Hedwig's Wish
by MsCashew
Summary: Harry is at Number 4 Privet Drive once again after his fifth year. Hedwig is with him, but she's been acting odd lately. So Harry sends her off to the Burrow early. . .and something happens to her along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters in this story. They belong to the lovely JK, if I did, Ron and Harry would be together, and sadly, they're not. sob And Minnesota's a long way from England. I lurve to ramble. =3

No warnings, just a fun fic. Bwahahahaha. . . .

Chapter I

It was a clear, warm night on the night of August the 5th. People cluttered the streets with activity on this superb night. Kids riding down the road on their bikes, couples walking to the park for that romantic night they always talked of but never did, teenagers just hanging around on the corner, for they had nothing better to do, and one boy of 16 in his room on Number 4 Privet Drive, spending time with his owl friend that listens to every word he has to say.

Harry Potter sat at his desk that lay beside his open window, going over some of his homework that was assigned for that summer, as he looked on at all the people that scurried about the streets.

His faithful owl was perched on the window ledge, watching her owner intently. Watching him scribble notes, watching him turn the pages on the text books that held the answers, watching him chew on the tip on his pen that he traded for his quill over the summers.

He now looked up from his studying and smiled at Hedwig. He took his hand, and gently ran it down her silky, feathery side. He now put down his pen and went back to watching the people outside.

"Look at them all. All of them in their happy own little worlds, not thinking about dark lords and prophecies. Not thinking about someone they lost." Hedwig answered in reply with a little hoot.

Now Harry looked back at Hedwig, and another smile appeared on his face, "Why are you up so early anyway? You're an owl, you should be nocturnal." Hedwig now ruffled up her feathers as some sort of shrug.

"I suppose it's not too early. It is seven at night. Owls usually get up at that time, right?" A ruffled shrug from Hedwig once again. Harry still smiled at his bird, now raising a hand to her once again, now petting her down her side like he's done so many times in the past.

"Why do I expect you to answer back? You can't talk." Harry said as he took his hand away. Hedwig did that ruffle once again, but now, it seemed a sad expression swept over the owl's face.

"Why do you look at me that way? Maybe you should get out for a bit." Harry now took an owl treat from a drawer in his desk, and gave it to Hedwig, her nipping his finger in affection for it, "That'll boost up your energy. Now go and fly a bit. You've been sitting here for nearly a week without getting out." With that, Hedwig turned, with a reluctant shake from her tail feathers, she flew out the window, flying high into the orange, blue sky that held the pinkish, fluffy clouds that people dreamed of in their sleep, except for Harry, that is.

Hedwig still flew higher and higher, worry on her mind for her owner of over five years. How she worried for him so.

Not more than an hour had passed by when Hedwig returned to Harry's window ledge. Harry was a bit surprised at Hedwig's return, he wasn't expecting her back until later that night.

"You couldn't have possibly gotten a good fly under just an hour." He scolded his owl. But he just then shook his head, and went back to his work.

Hedwig hopped down from the ledge onto Harry's desk, and nudged his arm lightly, wanting to be petted.

Harry gave up on his homework for the moment, and started to pet Hedwig.

"You're a pest, you know that? Really you are." He said as he smiled at her. He went into his drawer once again, and took out another owl treat.

"What's gotten into you lately? You've been surviving on owl treats instead of going to catch a vole, or a mouse." He said as he gave her the owl treat, still petting her soft feathery side.

He stopped petting her, and now just looked at her. Her ivory, white feathers, her dark eyes with that little shine to them, and her glossy beak shone now more glossy than previous nights.

"Hey, I have an idea," Harry said as he went into his drawer again, and took out a fresh piece of paper, "You should go onto the Burrow early," he kept talking as he wrote out a note for Ron, "Then you'll have something to do and not just sit around all night." Finished with the note, he carefully fastened it to Hedwig's leg, making sure it was tight enough to stay, but not too tight that it would hurt Hedwig.

Hedwig looked at him with that mournful expression she had on earlier, looking at him more intently than before.

"I'm still wondering about that look. Don't worry, I'll be along in five days when the advance guard comes to rescue me, okay?" He said with a smile, patting her head lightly, "Now, off you go." And off Hedwig went, into the now black, starry sky, heading off to the Burrow without her owner that she loved so dearly.

Hedwig still traveled to the Burrow after half the night had disappeared. Still gliding along the cool night breeze, still worrying about her owner.

She had worried for him so much since the end of his fifth year. Of course she didn't know what exactly happened, but knew that he lost someone, someone dear to him, someone that made his attitude change, that made his sense that Hedwig knew change. All this made Hedwig worry, that's why she didn't want to leave his side, that's why she looked at him with her forlorn looks.

Hedwig was beginning to tire from her long night fly, but she didn't want to stop. She just wanted to get to the Burrow and rest with Errol and Pig.

But with all the laying about she had been doing, she wasn't used to flying such distances yet, she had to stop somewhere and rest.

She scanned the vast forest that lay beneath her, looking for a clearing where she could land and rest.

She still looked out over the pines and the willows, and all that lay beneath, until something happened to her. She felt compelled to go over to one spot of the forest, one that really didn't have a clearing. She just felt this luring sensation that she had to go over to that spot. But she was unsure. She didn't know if this luring was one of good or one of bad, but this luring was strong. She couldn't deny this feeling, she had to obey.

She swooped down low over the trees, heading for that spot, wanting to see if this lure was going to lead her to something great, or something that would lead to her demise.

She was almost there, gliding down slowly to that spot that was calling to her, that just wouldn't stop calling to her.

She landed on a branch with grace, and now looked at her surroundings. There was somewhat of a clearing, but not that big. The moon shown down on this one little spot, illuminating it so it glowed with a light not of this world. Now Hedwig noticed a man there, one that she recognized from Harry's school. A tall man with blue robes, moon spectacles hitched on his hooked nose, and a very long white beard that almost went to the ground.

"Ah, my dear Hedwig, you look tired." This man said to Hedwig. She tilted her head at the man, not really knowing what else to do.

"Did you have a pleasant flight? Hmm, by the looks of it, it was a bit of a long way for you," He took out his wand, and with a swish and a flick, a bowl of water appeared in his opposite hand, "Here, have some water. It'll do you good." He floated the bowl over to where she sat, she still wasn't too sure of this person, but she took a drink, grateful for this man's kindness.

After she was done, she hooted at this man, and with great surprise, the man answered back.

"You're wondering as to who I am? My dear, Hedwig. I am Albus Dumbledore. I am a teacher, and a friend to Harry." He said with a warm smile, "You've been worried about Harry, haven't you?"

Hedwig answered with a hoot, and one of her sad looks.

"Yes, we've all been worried about him. But you in particular have been." Dumbledore said as he made his way up to Hedwig, petting her side as Harry did.

"It's been said that an owner and pet can bond far more than that of any human being. You happen to be one of those pets, Hedwig. That is why I've called you here." He said with another smile. He now stepped back, with a swish of his hand, he unveiled a long, red silk cloth the size of an afghan. It shimmered in the moonlight, making it look surreal.

"My dear Hedwig, you want to comfort Harry, and you don't know how. I however, know just what you can do." He brought the silk closer, showing it to Hedwig, "This is the Cloth of Kitsune. She was a powerful witch with the ability of shape shifting. She gave me this cloth two days before she passed on, knowing that I would only use it for purposes that mattered. And I think this matter counts." His smile faded away from his face, and now it held a look of sincerity. "Hedwig, I know how you love Harry, that is why I have brought you here. With this cloth, you can become human. You can comfort Harry the way you want." Hedwig didn't know what to think. She could actually become. . .a human? She wanted to comfort Harry, she wanted him to be happy again, but become human? An actual living person that could walk and talk? What was she to do?

"This is clearly your decision, Hedwig. Whatever you decide, it will be right." Hedwig was thinking and thinking, deciding what she should do. Could she really be a human? Could she actually be what she's watched for so many years?

After a minute or so of thought, she gave a little hoot, and swooped down to the ground, wanting to become what Harry was, a human.

"Excellent! Now, stay still, my dear Hedwig." He took the Cloth of Kitsune, and lay it on top of her, covering her whole feathered body.

He now took out his wand, raising it over the lump that was Hedwig. He started to make a swirling motion with the wand, chanting softly along with it. Soon, the swirling became faster, the chanting becoming louder as each second slipped by. Just a tornado of words, colors now sparking from the wands tip, everything becoming faster, more urgent.

There was a feeling that Hedwig was developing, a twinge just growing in her stomach as the words and colors flashed by.

Now she felt pulling of her wings, pulling of her legs and claws, bones cracking and twisting to longer, different forms. As transformation formed; feathers sunk in now soft flesh, each and everyone pricking like a needle.

She couldn't take it much longer. She felt like she was about to fall over the edge with pain.

A deafening owl screech came from her, sounding along the slopes of the vast forest. . .but soon this screech turned over to a scream. . . One that you would hear from a young woman in distress.

As Dumbledore's chant and wand died down, so did the scream. Now where the small lump that was Hedwig, lay a much bigger, more shapely lump.

This lump began to squirm, moving toward one of the edges of the cloth. Soon a hand poked out, a delicate, ivory hand. The lump raised, bringing the cloth up, dropping down to the new form of Hedwig's shoulder. She had short, spiky feathered hair, but was still a bit long-ish, and bangs that framed her face into a kind of circle shape.

"Are you alright, Hedwig?" Dumbledore asked the wide eyed girl. She looked up at him with gray, shiny eyes, and uttered, "I-I'm, a-a . . . a human."

"I'm a. . .a human." Hedwig repeated looking down at the hand that apparently was hers.

"You certainly are, my dear child." Dumbledore said with a wide smile and with that twinkle in his eye.

Hedwig began to stand, the cloth falling to the ground in a slow ruffle. She stumbled as she stood straight, but regained her balance after Dumbledore gently pressed her back, so she wouldn't fall.

Now where an owl once lay, stood a petite, nude girl with a look of wonder on her face. She looked down upon her new form. No feathers. . .no claws to perch with. She raised her once feathered wing, and was surprised to find an arm in it's place. She looked at her new hand, and flexed the fingers. With her feet, she felt the ground in between her toes. She was amazed she was doing this. Nothing of her old self remained. Just the smooth, pale ivory skin that she had seen on so many humans.

"I'm a human." She said once again in a whisper, still not being able to take it all in.

"As a human, you can say more than just, "I'm a human." Dumbledore said with humor in his voice, still smiling at Hedwig.

"I'm sorry, it's just really. . .quite amazing." She said, still flexing her fingers. She now realized what she had just done, and slapped a hand over her mouth.

"What's the matter?" Dumbledore asked, an eyebrow raised towards her.

The hand slowly descended from the mouth, and now she said, "I just spoke. I've never spoken before."

"Wonderful, isn't it?" Dumbledore said with an amused voice again.

She gave him a smile. Now with an even grander smile, she said in an excited voice, "I just smiled! How am I doing this?"

"Well, you are a human now. We all have emotions, and these emotions can show on our faces." He still had a smile.

She still smiled at him, and now decided that she wanted to try and take a first step on her new legs.

She raised her right leg in front of her, and tried to take a step, but now lost her balance, and began to fall backwards. Luckily, Dumbledore caught her in the nick of time under her arms. He put her back up, and now brought a hand up to his chin in thought.

"Hmm, and since you're a human, you need clothes. We all need clothes you know. Except for an old wizard I know, but I won't go into that. And I don't think you want to be like that wizard." He said, amusement showing in his eyes.

"I think we can transfigure you a robe out of the Cloth of Kitsune." He took out his wand, and with a swish and a flick, the cloth on the ground flowed over to Hedwig, now twisting and turning until it wrapped itself around Hedwig into a nice fitting robe.

"That will do nicely until we get you new clothes." He said as he placed his wand back in his robes.

"But, where will we go? And don't I need to exchange those shiny, circular things if I want clothes?" Hedwig said as she tried to step once again. She was successful this time, but still stumbled a bit.

"Don't worry my dear, Hedwig. I will supply you with clothes. But first, we'll go back to Hogwarts for the night, then in the morning, we shall get you clothes." He said as he took her arm in his, and helped her walk to get out of the clearing to a near by portkey he had placed.

"But where will we go?" She asked, looking up at him.

"The best place to go. Diagon Alley, of course."

"Would you like some tea, Hedwig?" Dumbledore asked from the fire place of his quarters as Hedwig wandered all around.

"Um, okay." She said, unsure if she would like it. She walked up the spiral stair case, the wall along side it lined with it's many books and treasures. All of these things made Hedwig's heart jump. She loved how the books looked so ancient, and so brand new at the same time. She loved how some of the things sparkled inside glass containers, how some swelled and burst.

A little more up the stairs, she discovered a beat up, worn out old witch hat. Why would this be on a wall of magical things?

"Mr. Dumbledore? What's the story behind this ha-"

"Who are you?" The hat interrupted Hedwig. This made her scream out, and jump back, well, as far as possible, since she was on the stairs.

"Hedwig, are you all right?" Dumbledore called up to her. She looked down on him, and with a squeak said, "A hat talked to me." Dumbledore chuckled, and called back up to her, "No need to worry. That's just the Sorting Hat. He won't do any harm."

"Well, well, well. Who is this, Dumbledore?" The Sorting Hat called out to him.

"This is just a friend staying for the remainder of the summer holidays." Hedwig looked at the Hat and smiled.

"Well, who exactly is she? Is she some kind of toy, is that why you won't tell me her name?"

"Hey!" Hedwig said to the Sorting Hat angrily.

"That was clearly uncalled for." Dumbledore said as he went over to the stairs, and climbed them two at a time.

"It seems perfectly logical if you won't tell me anything about her." The Hat said in his defense.

"Now listen here!" Hedwig yelled at the Hat, "Mr. Dumbledore has been nothing but kind to me! He wouldn't use me for nothing of the sort!. . .Would you?" She asked after Dumbledore had reached her.

"Of course not. As for you," He turned his attention to the Hat, "You've been rude, so you'll be put away for the remainder of the holiday."

"Well, I get what I get for being curious." The Sorting Hat said sarcastically. Dumbledore took out his wand once more, and flicked it at the Hat, making it disappear to some unknown place.

A whistle started to sound, making Dumbledore's attention go toward the fireplace.

"Ah, tea is ready. Shall we, Hedwig?" And with that, they both descended the stairs, making their way to the couch.

Dumbledore had just poured the tea, the steam rising into swirls soon disappearing when it went to a certain height.

Hedwig took the warm cup off the saucer with both of her new hands, afraid that she might spill, and was still a bit hesitant of using her hands in full swing. She brought the cup up to her face, feeling the warmth that was there, and now took a sip, the strong tea going nicely down her throat.

"I've never had tea before."

"I could imagine, since you've been an owl your whole life. . .until recently, of course." Dumbledore said, taking a small sip of his tea afterwards.

They sat in silence now, just sipping their tea, the glow of the fire making them an orangey glow as well. Hedwig looked at Dumbledore, seeing that the fire reflected off his moon spectacles, making his eyes give the impression of being on fire themselves.

The stillness of the room went right along with their silence. Just calm and quiet, not a thing moving, not a thing making a sound except for the popping and crackling of the fire in front of them.

Hedwig all of a sudden felt so tired. Just sitting in the sinking couch, drinking the warm, pleasant tea, the heat she felt from the fire. . . It all made her feel drowsy. She was soon to drift off.

Dumbledore noticed this. Without disturbing Hedwig, he stood silently, took the cup from her drooping hands, and placed her feet up on the couch. He now took a blanket from a near by chair, and covered her gently, Hedwig took a corner of the cozy blanket, and brought it right up to her chin.

Dumbledore smiled and began to go to his own room for the night. But before he could, Hedwig spoke to him, in a sad, worried tone.

"Mr. Dumbledore?"

"Yes, Hedwig? And please, call me Albus."

"Albus, do. . .do you think Harry will be alright?" Dumbledore smiled a sad smile toward the owl turned human, and gently said, "Only time will tell, Hedwig. Only time." And with those final words of the night, Hedwig drifted off into a deep slumber, visions of her beloved owner wandering in her dreams all throughout the night.

And that's the first chapter folks. applauds If you like, just review, it's that simple! If you hate, review! I like any kind of reviews. I'm a review harlot, what can I say?


	2. Chapter 2

I've never updated so fast. U.U; Anyhoo, on with Chapter two. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter II

Hedwig woke idly in the morning, squinting her eyes to the bright sun that shone through the massive window on the left side of Dumbledore's quarters. She sat up with the blanket wrapped around her, still squinting from the sun, her head in a bit of a haze.

"Why am I up in the day light?" She thought to herself. She looked around, and realized that this wasn't Harry's room. This wasn't at all the Weasley's home.

She looked down, and now it snapped back into her head. What had happened last night. The clearing, the cloth, the transformation. . .She was a human.

"So it wasn't a dream." She mumbled to herself. She looked down at herself once again, removing the blanket that draped her petite body slowly. She saw her legs covered in her transfigured robe, her feet that now touched the cold, marble floor.

"Nope, definitely not a dream."

"Ah, you're awake." came the voice of Dumbledore from behind, which made Hedwig jump. She looked back, seeing Dumbledore descend the stairs, that all-knowing smile plastered on his face.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered, still kind of shocked from Dumbledore sneaking up on her.

As he came closer, she now saw that he held a tray of what appeared to be food, with a blue teapot that had stars covering it. These stars seemed to be enchanted, for they swept, and dazzled all around the teapot, making the shapes of existing constellations.

Dumbledore set down the tray on the coffee table, and sat down in the chair that matched the red velvet, sinking couch so well. He gave her another smile, and began to speak.

"I thought you'd have an appetite after your sleep." He said with that twinkle in his eyes, folding his hands neatly in his lap. After he said that, Hedwig heard a loud rumble from her stomach, and just now realized that she was hungry.

"I guess I am. I haven't really eaten anything since Harry came home. Just mainly owl treats." She thought out loud as she took a biscuit from the tray. She took a bite of the round bread and decided that they were good.

"These are excellent." She said as she reached for her cup of tea, which was already poured before hand.

"Try it with some of that jam. It's quite good if you have a sweet tooth." Dumbledore said to Hedwig before he bit into his own biscuit, spread with lemon jam.

She did this, and decided it was even better.

"Eat quickly now, Hedwig. Diagon Alley awaits." Dumbledore said as he stood, making his way towards, what appeared to be, a closet.

"We're going to go already?" She asked, almost dropping her biscuit.

"Of course. It's always so lively in the morning, best time to go." He said while half of him was deep in the closet, seeming to be searching for something.

"But, but. . ." she was lost for words. "What if someone discovers I'm an owl? What then? I-I mean, you don't usually see an owl turned human everyday."

"Silly child," He called from the closet, "There have been strange things wizards have transformed, and you're right. No one's really turned an animal into a human - A hah! Found them." He said with triumph in his voice.

He emerged from the closet, bringing with him a pair of boots. The kind that witches wore in the 1500's. Pointy black ones with that silver buckle adorning the front of each shoe. Yes, these shoes had nostalgia written all over them.

"Mr. Dumbledore? What are those for?" Hedwig asked as he placed them on the arm of the couch.

"Why, they're for you my dear. You can't really go walking in Diagon Alley without shoes. And I said you could call me Albus." He said with the same, kind smile.

"I don't really feel comfortable calling you Albus, Mr. Dumbledore. Do you mind?" She asked, feeling that he was doing him a wrong.

"No, not at all. It was just a mere suggestion. Now," He said, clapping his hands together, "You just throw those on, and we can be on our way."

Hedwig looked a little confused at what Dumbledore had said. She took the right boot into her hand, and said, "I thought you just pulled on shoes. How can you throw them? Wouldn't they be across the room then?"

"FRESH GROUND, WHOMPING WILLOW ROOT, HALF PRICE!" a merchant yelled outside his shop, "BEST GROUND ROOT THIS SIDE OF ENGLAND!"

Hedwig marveled at all the commotion that was Diagon Alley. The many witches and wizards gad about the streets, buying and selling magical substances, some selling books, some selling flowers that bloomed repeatedly for that romantic type of guy. Some dressed in burgundy robes, others dressed in blue, and greens, and every color you could imagine. There was one witch that even had a multicolored robe that kept switching colors, other witches gathering around her, admiring the unique robe.

Just a little ways down the street, there were street performers. Making dust into animated objects. Such as butterflies, small dragons that whizzed by your head, and what Hedwig liked, and appreciated the most, were the owls.

As they walked along, witches and wizards alike came up to Dumbledore, saying things like, "Dumbledore! You old so and so," "Professor Dumbledore, it's been a while," "We must meet for afternoon tea sometime." And so on and so forth.

They ventured on, now passing Eeylopes Owl Emporium. This made Hedwig smile even more, "I remember this place. It's, it's where Harry's tall, shaggy friend came and bought me," she looked through the window from where she was standing in the street, "Hey! Tom's still there! He's such an old little thing. I thought he would've been gone by now."

"That's funny. I always thought Rufus Crandle ran the Owl Emporium." Dumbledore said, a hand stroking his chin in thought.

"Huh? Oh no, not the owner. His own owl. Tom. He's been there for years."

"Ah yes." He said with a chuckle.

They made their way further down the street, Hedwig still enthralled by all that was going on around her. Yes, she remembered being there as an owl, but as a human, it was a completely different experience. Everything looked different, noises sounded different, even the smells around her were different.

"Mr. Dumbledore, what's everyone gathered around that store for?" Hedwig asked as she stopped, her attention being caught by the crowd.

"Oh, they probably have a new broom at Quality Quidditch Supplies. They have a better broom every year, you know."

"Could we go look? I know how crazy Harry is for his broom, I want to see what all the fuss is about."

"Why don't you go on without me? I'm in the mood for a lemon sherbet at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Would you like one as well?" He asked with his same smile.

"No thank you, Mr. Dumbledore."

"Alright then. It's right at the end of this street. I'll see you in a few minutes." And with that, Hedwig headed off toward Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Dumbledore went the other way to his lemon sherbet.

Hedwig pushed her way through the crowd, wanting to see what all the commotion was with one broom. This was a different experience for her as well. Never once had she had to push her way through to get to something. She always flew over what the obstruction was.

She finally got up to the store window, and was shocked at what she saw. No, it wasn't the broom she was shocked about. It was her own reflection. She was seeing her own reflection of her human form for the first time. She put her hand to the window, and just stared. She stared at her light brown bangs that went all the way down to her chin and framed her face, she stared at her nose and pinkish lips that looked so different from her beak. But most of all, she stared at her eyes. They were a thick gray on the outside of her eyes, but they still held yellow that her old owl eyes had around her pupils.

She still stared, until it caught the attention of a younger wizard that was standing by her. He smiled at her stunned gaze and said to her in a Scottish drawl, "Amazing, isn't it?" He said about the broom.

"Yes. . .quite." She said, but not about the broom.

She left the window reluctantly, and started on her way towards Florean Fortescue's where Dumbledore said he'd be. She made her way slowly, though, bringing a hand up and feeling her long bangs, feeling the back of her head of it's short, spiky feathery hair.

She finally made it to the Ice Cream Parlor, finding Dumbledore sitting at one of the outside tables, seeming to be enjoying his lemon sherbet.

"Ah, Hedwig. Did you figure what the fuss was about brooms?" He said as he took another bite of the frozen treat. She just sat solemnly down on the chair opposite of Dumbledore and said not a word.

"Is something the matter, Hedwig?" He asked, concern lining his voice. She looked up at him, and said, "I'm really a human." All of it had finally sunken in. Now that she had seen herself, it all was suddenly real.

This made Dumbledore chuckle, and give a warm smile to Hedwig.

"Amazing, isn't it, my dear child?" Hedwig blushed, timidly smiling at Dumbledore.

"Sorry, Mr. Dumbledore. It was just a bit stunning to see myself in the store window."

"I can understand. It's quite different for an owl to be human." He said, now finished with his lemon sherbet, "Now then, let's go to Madam Malkin's Robe Shop and buy you some new robes." They embarked once again down the street of Diagon Alley, Hedwig still marveling at the sites that she saw.

They still traveled down the road, as they heard a voice call out from behind them.  
"Professor Dumbledore!" They stopped and turned around to see who had called out Dumbledore's name. The person in question made Hedwig's eyes grow wide with surprise, and Dumbledore just keep his same warm, smiling composure.   
  
Just making their way up to Dumbledore and Hedwig, half the Weasley clan(including Arthur, Molly, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny), Hermoine, and Harry greeted Dumbledore. Hedwig stayed half way hidden behind Dumbledore, a bit shy to actually greet the group that she knew so well. Why was she shy of these people she had known for years? Because she didn't know them as a human. She was a stranger to them, as they were to her.  
"Ah, Arthur, Molly, how good to see you." Dumbledore said with his old smile.  
"Good to see you too, Albus." Arthur said.   
"And Harry-"  
"I-I thought you weren't due to get here for five days." Hedwig blurted out as Dumbledore said Harry's name, making the cluster of people around them look toward her.   
"How did you know that?" Harry asked her, a baffled look on his face. Hedwig realized what she said, and was lost for words.  
"I-I. . .um, . . ."   
"Don't you remember me telling you? I told you Harry would be leaving early this year. I made an exception this time." He said down at Hedwig with that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Hedwig just raised an eyebrow at him.   
"Oh, and who is this, Albus?" Molly said with a kind, gentle tone.   
"Why, this is my Great Niece, Shannon Dumbledore." Hedwig still looked up at him, the knowing, mischievous twinkle growing in his eyes.   
"I didn't know you had a niece, Professor Dumbledore." Hermoine chimed in, looking at Hedwig the whole while.   
"Ah, yes. I just don't talk much of her, she's a bit of a black sheep in my family line," This made Hedwig give a sour look to Dumbledore, along with a little 'humph'. Dumbledore just chuckled, and spoke again, "I'm of course just joking. She's quite nice family to have."

"Ahh, you got us all excited for nothing." Fred piped up, going more close to Hedwig with George right along with him.  
"Need someone to carry on in the mischievous department, if you get my drift." George said as they reached Hedwig.  
"To think, having a rebel in Hogwarts that's the Great Niece of Headmaster! That's a true dream." Fred said as they inspected Hedwig up and down in their bizarre way. Lifting up her arm, looking through her hair, kneeling down and feeling for a pulse in her boot. Did I say bizarre? I mean how they usually go about things.   
"Ah yes, Fred. Nearly brought me to tears, it did."  
"Tears? It nearly broke my heart! What are we to do, George?"   
  
"You can start by leaving that innocent girl alone. Honestly! You two are graduates! You should know how to act." Mrs. Weasley said, hands on hips, giving them that look. You know the one, the "evil" eye look. But coming from Molly Weasley, it was ten times worse.   
"Yes, mother, dear." The twins said in unison as they backed away from Hedwig.  
"Um, excuse me, but I . . . I'm not going to Hogwarts." Hedwig said timidly. Dumbledore chuckled at this statement, which made Hedwig raise another eyebrow at him.   
"My dear child, I was going to surprise you, but when it comes up, I just have to speak. You will be starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this coming fall."  
"Huh? Really?" Hedwig asked, her eyes round from surprise.  
"I would not have said so if it were not true." Hedwig stood there, silent because of this news. She thought that she wouldn't get to see Harry all that much, but now that she learned she was to be enrolled in the same school . . . she slowly broke out into a smile and lunged at Dumbledore, giving him a hug.   
"Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she exclaimed in a rush of words. Dumbledore put an arm around her, and returned the hug.  
"You're quite welcome, Shannon." Hedwig let go, still smiling up at him.   
  
"Well, we best be off. We were just on our way to Madam Malkin's to purchase some new robes." Dumbledore said to the pack before him, smiling at them all.  
"Yes, we were just off towards Flourish and Blotts." Said Arthur, "We'll see you at the next meeting, right?" said Arthur, talking about the Order.  
"Of course. Have a wonderful rest of the day." Just as he said that, Fred and George went up to Hedwig once again, both of them shaking both of her hands quite vigorously.  
"Nice to meet you, Shannon." Said Fred.  
"Yes, it was a pleasure." Said George.   
"Do remember about being a rebel. Quite the luxury when you're the Headmaster's Great Niece." Fred whispered to her.   
"That's enough!" Mrs. Weasley said with her death threat tone. The twins let go of her hands, leaving her a bit shaken up. They bowed down low, and made their way back toward their family. And with that, Dumbledore and Hedwig went one way, and the clan of redheads went the other. But not before Hedwig heard Ron utter his first words to Harry since they bumped into each other.  
"She's a cute bird, isn't she?"   
Hedwig just smiled. A smile that closely resembled a smirk, and thought, _"You don't know how true that is."_

__

Dumbledore and Hedwig made their way through Madam Malkin's without a hitch, buying the required school robes, and a few other ones for different occasions, along with the proper undergarments that any young witch needs.

Hedwig had been relatively quiet throughout the store, only speaking when her school robe was being tailored, saying if it felt alright, if it wasn't too tight, or anything like that.

Going down the street once again, the flood of witches and wizards not being so thick. Dumbledore stopped, Hedwig not noticing until she was a couple feet in front of him.

"Mr. Dumbledore, why'd you stop?" questioned Hedwig, going back to Dumbledore.

"Well, if you are to attend Hogwarts, you'll need a wand, now won't you?" said Dumbledore in his gentle, kind way. He had stopped right in front of Olivander's Wands, gesturing that Hedwig enter before him.

"But, but-"

"Come along now, Hedwig." She entered the shop, a bit halfhearted, with Dumbledore right behind her.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, waiting for Olivander to show. Hedwig was shifting from one foot to the other, seeming to be uncomfortable, seeming a bit nervous.

"Mr. Dumbledore, how is Hogwarts going to work out?" She blurted out, looking up at the old headmaster with a fixed gaze.

"Like any other school of witchcraft. You go, and you learn." He said with a smile.

"No, not that. I mean. . ." She trailed off, thinking of how to phrase this, "I'm not-I'm not magical, I'm not a witch, I'm an owl!. How can I go to a school that's for witches and wizards if I'm not one?"

Dumbledore chuckled, and spoke, "Dear child, it all has to do with-"

"Ah, Albus Dumbledore! What a surprise," Olivander came out finally, a smile on his face, "What can I do for you today?" He said as he clapped his hands together.

"Actually, it's my great niece. She's in need of a new wand." Dumbledore stepped aside, letting Olivander see Hedwig. She stepped a bit closer, being a bit nervous.

"You've never told me about a great niece, Albus." Olivander said as he glimpsed Hedwig up and down, seeming to evaluate her. Hedwig looked up at Dumbledore, an eyebrow raised just waiting for him to tell Olivander about her being a black sheep.

"No one's asked me of her." He simply said, that twinkle taking over his eyes.

"Hmm, yes. Well, on to business." He said as he turned around, running a hand down over the shelf full of wands.

He took one down, opening the box carefully as if it were the most fragile object in the store.

"Here, take this up." Hedwig took the wand from the box uncertainly, holding it above the counter.

"Now, give it swish." Olivander ordered.

Hedwig did as she was told, and to her surprise, the box the wand was in blew into shreds, covering the counter.

"H-how did I do that?" She asked, a shake in her voice, staring at the wand.

"Simple. You're magical." said Dumbledore, that mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Well, that's certainly not it." Olivander went on, not hearing what Hedwig and Dumbledore just said. Hedwig set the wand down, looking up at Mr. Olivander. He went back to the shelf behind him, taking down another box, opening it just as carefully as the last one.

"Give this one a go." Hedwig took it up, gave it another swish, giving the glass counter a crack right down the middle in the front.

"No, not that one either." He now came out from behind the counter, and went to a row of shelves, Hedwig setting down the destructive wand.

"A-hah, maybe this one." taking a box from three shelves up, he went back to Hedwig, doing as he did before.

She took up the wand, but didn't attempt to move it. It didn't need to be tested out, it felt right in her hands, it felt warm. It felt like it belonged there, like it was hers and no one else.

"Yes, that's the right one." Olivander said, shaking his head in approval, "Oak, ten inches, with a phoenix feather, accompanied by an owl one. Shall I ring it up?"

They had gone to Flourish and Blotts afterwards, collecting Hedwigs' books for her right classes, buying quills and parchment for them as well, and a few other things that Dumbledore thought Hedwig should have.

She was quite silent throughout this store just as she had been in Madam Malkin's robe shop, the thoughts of the wand flipping over in her mind, mulling over of how she could have possibly made it work.

Before she knew, the both of them were back in Hogwarts, back in Dumbledore's quarters, him taking the newly purchased items that were shrunk, out of his robes, setting them on the coffee table that rested in front of the couch.

"You have a question, Hedwig." Dumbledore said, stating it rather than questioning it.

"Well, yes." said Hedwig, a bit dumbfounded, "How. . .how am I able to work a wand? I'm not a witch."

"Ah yes. That crossed my mind as well, and I have an answer for it." He said as he went by the fire place, taking an old kettle from the mantle, and tapping it with his wand. Hedwig heard swishing in the pot and assumed Dumbledore had just made water appear in that rustic kettle.

"You see, Hedwig," He said as he placed the kettle in the fireplace, "When an owner and their pet are with each other for a long period of time, the pet starts to take on the owners characteristics." Hedwig watched every one of Dumbledore's moves, watching as he sparked the fire a bit more with his wand until he came to rest on the armchair to the right of the couch.

"How do you mean?" asked Hedwig as she folded her hands in her lap.

"For example, if an owner is angry, the pet will almost likely become an angry animal. If the owner is slothful, the pet will likely be as well, "He stopped as he heard the tea kettle whistle, and stood to take the hot water out of the fire, now pouring it into two tea cups on the coffee table Hedwig hadn't noticed before, "As for you, Harry is a wizard. So you have taken on the distinctiveness of a wizard." He stopped once again, now sitting in the chair once again, dunking his tea bag into his tea cup, swirling it around a bit.

With a reflective look on his old, gentle face, Dumbledore said, "Well, in your case, the distinctiveness of a witch." He smiled, and took a sip of his tea.

"So, that's why I can wield a wand?" She said as she reached for her cup of tea, staring at the swirling steam that hang there.

"Precisely." Hedwig responded with a nod, taking a drink of her tea.

"You have another question." Dumbledore said in a statement again rather than a question. Hedwig's head jolted up, and just stared at Dumbledore with a fixed glare.

"How do you do that?" She asked.

"It comes with age," He said with a smile, "Now, about your question."

She shook her head, and began to speak, "Why Shannon? I understand I shouldn't really be going around saying I'm a students owl. . .but why Shannon Dumbledore?"

"Shannon's quite a nice name, don't you agree?" He said, setting down his empty tea cup.

"Well, yes. It sounds like a good name."

"Then it's agreed. You shall be Shannon Dumbledore, my great niece." He said with a clap of his hands, "Now, it's been a long day. How about we have dinner?"

"Um, yeah. That's sounds good." She said, a tad confused, shaking her head once again.

So, the rest of the long day went quietly with no more questions from Hedwig, the crackling and popping of the fire speaking the majority of the evening.

And that's chapter 2. A thank you to **MyOwnLittleWorld**, and **Annie**. Thanks for reading and reviewing. =3

Remember, reviews power the engine of writers. Thanks so much.


	3. Part 1 of Chapter 3

My goodness, it's been so long! I'm sorry, my lovelies. College started, didn't have too much time for fanfics. But now, here I am! Please forgive me. dances

Anyhoo, this isn't all of chapter 3. It's just some of it. There going to be quite a bit more. But I thought since I have this much here, I would share it with you. Hooray!

And, all of my thank yous will be at the end of here. SO, look out for them. And here we go, the beginning of chapter 3. . .

Chapter 3

"A-are you sure of this, Mr. Dumbledore? I-I mean, it just doesn't make too much sense." Hedwig replied, hoisting her satchel more on her shoulder as both her and Dumbledore walked down the long path to the front gates of Hogwarts, the path being warm and sun-drenched.

"I'm as sure as the sky is blue, dear Hedwig. I want you to have the full student experience."

"But going on the Hogwarts train to get to the school that I've lived at for the past summer?"

"Wonderful thinking you have, Hedwig."

"But it was _your _idea." Hedwig fumed as they passed under the arch of the gates. They both stopped, with Hedwig giving Dumbledore the evil eye as he reached deep inside his robes.

"I would just like you to have the Hogwarts experience, Hedwig. I don't want others to think you're above all because you're supposedly my great niece," He said, still looking through his robes, "It'll be like you're a regular student. . .A-hah, found it." He said, taking out what appeared to be a rusted key.

"But I don't know anybody." She said quietly, looking away with a slight blush in her cheeks. Dumbledore smiled at her, and now said with a gentle voice, "That's why you must be on the Hogwarts train."

With a sigh, she said, "Okay."

"Good. Now," He said, gesturing with the rusted key in his hands, "What is your name that others are to know?"

"Shannon Dumbledore." She said, a slump going into her shoulders as she answered. She had been asked this question almost every day of the summer. She had answered 'Hedwig' on a few occasions when he first started asking, but now she answered 'Shannon' every time.

"And what do you call me?"

"Albus. But you like Uncle Albus." She said, smiling at him.

"Yes, it has a certain ring to it." He said in a thoughtful voice, "Okay, you know your facts, we've worked on things over the summer," He stopped, putting the key to the temple of his head, seeming to think, "I think you're ready for school. Welcome to Hogwarts, Shannon." He said with a smile and that twinkle in his eye.

"Thank you, Uncle Albus." She said with the same kind of smile.

"Here's the port key I've been planning. It will take you right to Platform 9 and ¾," he stretched out the key to her, "I will see you at the feast tonight." Hedwig took the key, feeling a pull in her abdomen, and seeing lastly a smiling Dumbledore fade from her sight.

She closed her eyes, feeling the whirl and dizziness by traveling by port key. She felt as if she might be sick, but to her relief, she landed with a 'thump' of her feet. She opened her eyes only to see a desolate platform. There was nothing except for the train. No students, no parents for the students to say goodbye to, not even a pet. There wasn't even a scrap of paper blowing in the wind!

She looked around, still not seeing a form of life, until she looked all the way to the engine of the train, spotting a man and woman. The woman was holding a clip board in her hand, a wand in the other, seeming to be looking over a list.

The man was talking to her, dusting off something at the same time on his overalls.

Hedwig started their way, the satchel hitting her hip as she walked. A few feet from them, she began to speak, "Um, excuse me? Excuse me." She said until she was by them, and they were looking at her, "Um, is this the Hogwarts Express?" She asked them.

"Aye." The man in the overalls said, looking at Hedwig with a suspicious eye.

"Then, where are all the students? Isn't it September 1st?" Hedwig questioned, starting to think Dumbledore had sent her on the wrong day.

"It is," the woman said, "But my dear, students don't usually start to show for maybe a couple hours." The woman said with a laugh in her voice. Hearing this, Hedwig's mouth went agape, and she just stared at the woman.

"Is something the matter, dear?" The woman said with worry. Hedwig shook her head, and tried to smile at the woman, "No, nothing the matter. I've just got an uncle that's mad."

Hedwig began to walk down the train, looking for a car to sit in for the next couple plus hours. She heard the woman call to her as she walked, "Well, if you need anything, just find me. I'm the witch with the trolley." She said, Hedwig hearing a smile in her voice. Hedwig waved over her shoulder, signaling that she had heard the witch.

Taking one of the last cars, Hedwig climbed aboard, took the nearest compartment, and with a sigh, slumped to her seat by the window. She was in for a long wait.

For a couple minutes, all she did was stare at the seat across from her, not knowing what else to do to keep her occupied. After thinking that this wasn't getting her anywhere, she shook her head, and looked out the window.

Still nothing.

With a frustrated sigh, she crossed her arms roughly, and looked back to the seat in front of her. Thinking back to when she was still an owl, this felt just like how it did when she couldn't be let out of her cage. Bored, antsy, and just plain angry.

Well, of course it wasn't _exactly _how it was in her cage. She could get up and walk around, or she could . . .walk around. The boredom factor still remained though.

With a yawn, Hedwig decided against the walk. She kicked off her new shoes, and placed her feet up on the seat, her back against the window. After setting her satchel on the floor, she reached in, and pulled out a pumpkin cupcake.

She had grown quite fond of the little orange spiced treats, so Dumbledore made it a point to always have them around. With tea, for dessert, just a snack, she just loved them.

"I wonder if Harry likes these?" She thought to herself as she finished the cake.

With the cake finished and the waiting continuing, Hedwig began to grow very tired. She had not had very much sleep the previous night. All the worrying and excitement of school starting had kept her up most of the night. She was also playing chess with Dumbledore for quite a while. He had been teaching her over the summer and she wasn't that bad at it. She also wasn't very good at it either.

"I don't want to fall asleep." She drowsily thought as she battled with her eyelids to stay open. She stubbornly fought for a few minutes, ending with the eyelids winning. It didn't take long for sleep to claim her. . .

* * *

_"Ms. Dumbledore, do you think you could keep your mind on other things besides the window?" A sour Snape asked. Hedwig snapped her head back toward the front of the room, wide eyed as she realized she had been daydreaming again._

_"I'm sorry Professor Snape, I was just, I didn't mean to, I'm just sorry." She said with a little humph, part of it being that she was sorry, part of it that she was a tad annoyed._

_"You know, even though you're the headmaster's great niece, I don't have to come up to his headquarters and tutor you." He said, his arms crossed over his chest, his face resembling a look of annoyance. Though, that's pretty much the only face Hedwig ever saw him wear."I know, Professor Snape. I just-"_

_"You just what, Ms. Dumbledore?" Snape interrupted her._

_"I just noticed the owls coming out." She said quietly._

_"Just get back to your potion, you can gawk at the owls on your own time." This made Hedwig give him an angry look, but it soon turned into a look of hurt. With a sigh, Snape said with a monotone voice, "Alright, Ms. Dum," Hedwig didn't like being called Ms. Dumbledore, and Snape knew this. She gave him another annoying look, "Shannon. If you complete your potion and nothing implodes or anything of the sort, I will take you outside to look for ingredients for our next session. . . And we can look at the owls." Hedwig smiled and began to work on her potion once again._

_"I honestly don't know why you find those dirty owls to be so fascinating." Snape said as he walked over to Hedwig's cauldron to inspect her potion._

_"I don't know why either, Professor Snape." She said whilst stirring her potion, looking down at the red/purple swirled mixture, "Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to fly? Having that chill of air under your wings, soaring throughout the mystery of the night?" She went on, adding the next ingredient._

_"I know what it's like to fly, Ms. Dumbledore. I've ridden a broom before. . . I didn't like it." He looked down his nose to the concoction in the cauldron, nodding in approval._

_"Well, I've never ridden a broom. Madam Hooch is teaching me some, but I'm still a bit wary of taking off. . . But, I can just imagine what it's like to fly. It's wonderful."_

_"Never ridden a broom? Where have you been?" Snape muttered, still inspecting the potion. Hedwig furrowed her eyebrows at him, stopping her stirring, stopping her attention to give the potions master a well deserved glare. . . This was not such a good idea. The brew started spewing and sputtering, and sparking, going to an angry shade of blue._

_"Ms. Dumbledore, the potion!" Snape snapped, Hedwig gasped, the potion bubbled . . . It was ruined. . ._

* * *

Hedwig jumped as the potion ruptured in her dream, knocking her awake. Over the summer, she had been tutored by the professors to teach her the basics that first years learn, going on to more complicated spells and potions, and even a couple of advanced techniques. She wasn't the greatest at potions though, so those stuck out in her mind and once in a while, she would dream about it. . . Especially when her potions would fail.

"I dislike the color blue." She muttered as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, stretching her legs as she did so.

"Really? I rather like the color blue. I don't see what's so bad about it." Hedwig jumped at this voice, hitting her head on the window behind her.

"Ow. . ." she rubbed the back of her head, muttering something incoherent under her breath. She looked up at the seat across from her only to find a somewhat pudgy, although tall boy sitting there with bright, yet shy eyes.

"Oh, s-sorry about that. I didn't know I would startle you." He said in a quiet stutter.

"How long have you been there?" Hedwig finally asked.

"Only a minute. The other cars were filling up, and I saw only you were in this one, so I just, well, sat down. . . I didn't know you were sleeping until you woke up." Hedwig didn't know if that made sense or not, but hearing that the cars were filling up made her turn around on her knees and look out the window. Sure enough, there were kids, parents, and luggage scurrying all over the platform. Hedwig smiled at all this. This was really happening. She was going to attend the Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was going to be able to see Harry more often, she was going to be able to bring him out of his gloom. . . She hoped, anyway.

"I've never seen you before. That means you're new, right?" The boy asked Hedwig, bringing her attention back to him.

"Yes. I'm new. I'm a sixth year." Hedwig told him, looking back to the crowd outside.

"I'm a sixth year too. My name's Neville Longbottom. What's yours?" Hedwig looked back at the boy.

"I'm Shannon Dumbledore. It's a pleasure." She gave him a small smile to be polite.

"Dumbledore? Are you related to the headmaster then?"

"Y-yes. I'm his great niece." Hedwig said, being nervous. Could this boy see through her? Did he know she was an owl?

"Wow, that must have its perks. Do you get to run about and cause havoc?" He asked with a smile on his round face.

"No. I'm just like any other student. I go, I learn, I get into trouble." She said with a bit of defense. She didn't know too much about getting into trouble, though. But if it was like anything like scrubbing all the cauldrons after a potion went wrong, she didn't want to go down that road.

"Fair enough. I see you're in Gryffindor too. I'm in it as well." He kept on with the conversation, noticing Hedwig's tie with it's Gryffindor colors, and her Gryffindor knee socks.

"Yes. I was chosen to be in Gryffindor over the summer." She answered again, turning back around sitting so she was looking at Neville.

"Good. Then you won't have to be sorted with the first years when we get to the school. That might have been a bit embarrassing. I can tell, I know what it's like to be embarrassed." Neville said as he rubbed the back of his head. Hedwig smiled at Neville. She kind of liked him.

* * *

Okay, on with a thank you to:

**kungzoune,** **first reviewer on chapter two**

James Ray Edwards, thank you for your awesome review. glomps I love reviews like that. 3

Mr. Mysterious, thank you for your review. And no, I didn't get the idea from the White Owl Challenge. I don't even know where I got the idea. lol And don't worry, Harry will be in here. I just have to set everything up. X3

Ian, thank you for the compliment and the review. glomps You'll have to wait and see. ;)

Liz, thank you for your review. I'm glad you like it so far. 74; Don't worry, more is on the way!

Bluue, uber glomps I'm glad you like. And I must draw Hedwig sometime. . . Well, Shannon. w

gaul1, Thank you.

Kim Kotchanski, I love you. Lol, and I know about fringe. I'm just used to saying bangs. I'll say it more often from now on though, just for you. :)

And there we go. Squee! So, if you like, just leave a review. Click that little button, write a couple of words, and there you go. It's that simple. dances Bye for now,

Cale


	4. Part 2 of Chapter 3

Oh my word, I'M UPDATING THIS FIC! OH RAPTURE, OH JOYOUS DAY! Really, I'm shocked. D: But yeah, starting that Beetlejuice fanfic (which I highly recommend, by the by ;D ) got my fanfic juices flowing, so, here you go. :) Again, this isn't the rest of chapter three (how long will it be?), it's part two. The third part should be the end of chapter three. :) It's a long chapter, isn't it? So, enjoy, especially everyone who's been waiting **FOREVER** for this thing to be updated. :D

* * *

"So, what kind of things do you like, Shannon?" Neville asked, seeming to still be a bit shy with talking to her. She smiled, and answered with a quiet voice, seeming to think,

"Well . . . I like lemon jam, and biscuits . . . Owls are wonderful. Don't like potions very much . . ." She said as she brought a hand to her cheek, seeming to think more, ". . . I like Harry-" She blurted out, but stopped herself pretty quick, not wanting Neville to know, he might make a connection, but he seemed not the type to put things together, but why risk it?

"What was that?" He asked.

"I -I like . . . Haggis! Yes, wonderful that haggis is."

"Really? Can't stand the stuff myself. Anyway, I like plants, I like plants a lot. And just hanging around with the guys, Harry and Ron, and Dean, Seamus, all those guys. Do you have any pets?"

"N-no. I've never been aloud to have a pet. I don't know why." Hedwig said, smiling on the inside that she, herself was a pet.

"Well that's a shame. I've had a pet since first year. He's a toad, his name's Trevor. Would you like to see him?"

"That'd be neat." Was Hedwig's response, smiling at Neville, being polite. Neville reached into his pants pocket, seeming ready to grab the toad. But to Hedwig's surprise, he took his hand out of that pocket and reached into the other one. He then took that one out and reached into his coat pocket. Still nothing.  
Neville stood up, looking all around the seat he had sat on. There was no toad that Hedwig could see. Did Neville forget him at home?

"Oh no! I've lost Trevor!" Neville said in a panic, swooping around, looking around Hedwig's seat. Then to Hedwig's shock, Neville fell to his hands and knees, looking under his seat, going over to Hedwig's, he lifted her feet and legs up, making Hedwig squeak with surprise, he started looking under her seat like he did with his. When that failed, he sat up on his knees, with a look of annoyance mixed with a bit of sadness, "He's not there. How does this happen every year?" Neville stood up, opening the door to the hallway of the train, ready to leave.

"Neville, where are you going?" Hedwig asked, sitting on the edge of her seat.

"Well, I have to find Trevor. Someone might step on him." He said, about to leave again.

"I'll help you find him. I have pretty good sight . . . More so at night." She joked to herself.  
"Brilliant. Come on." Off they went into the busy hallway of the train, kids running around, having to dodge a trunk or two as they passed, and even a calico cat had escaped from some unlucky student, the cat and owner running down, almost knocking into Hedwig and Neville.

"Oh, I hope that cat hasn't gotten him." Neville said more to himself than Hedwig. Hedwig just tagged behind, keeping an eye out for the missing toad called Trevor. Neville stopped in a couple cars along the way, asking if they had seen the toad, getting a no each time.

They stopped again, finding a couple of Gryffindors playing some kind of card game, Hedwig thinking that they both looked familiar, and now coming to mind that she thought Neville looked familiar as well.

"Have you guys seen Trevor anywhere? He's missing." Neville asked, leaning on the car door.

"No, haven't seen the thing." the darker skinned one spoke, laying a card down that soon took the head off of the gangly one's card.

"Honestly, Neville. You lose that toad every year. I'm beginning to think you do it on purpose." the gangly one spoke in an Irish accent as he stared at his beheaded card with annoyance.

"I really don't, Seamus. I have no clue how he slips out of my hands every single time." a frantic Neville stated.

Of course! Hedwig realized that all three of them were from Harry's dorm. How could she have been so stupid? Neville said he was a sixth year, and these two were wearing Gryffindor uniforms, it finally clicked in her mind, "How could I have been that stupid?" She thought to herself, her face contorted in a 'well duh' sneer. It was just such a different view for her as a human, it was so odd and yet so wonderful at the same time. It was easy though to know the Weasley family when she saw them in Diagon Alley, and Hermione, and of course Harry, she had rightfully so grown with all of them, spending so much time around them.

"Well, we'll find you if we see him. Good luck." Seamus said, still looking at his card.

Neville and Hedwig headed out of the car, Neville seeming to get more frantic with each step he took down the hallway.

"Do you think he got out of the train?" She asked the distraught Neville. But he didn't answer, he just kept going down the long hall, "Neville, did you hear me? Do you think he got out when someone opened a door? If someone opened a window?" She kept asking as she placed a hand on his shoulder, making him kind of angrily wipe her hand away. This made Hedwig do a little 'humph' as Neville ignored her, making her annoyed. She did not like being ignored. She was just trying to help him, he didn't have to get so huffy.

Neville went to a couple more cars, each one with the occupants saying, "No, haven't seen him" or "Quit losing your bloody toad!". Or even the less used phrase, "Or for God's sake, not again." Hedwig went right along with him, the train starting to move as they went, getting to a full locomotive speed, Hedwig getting a bit more annoyed as they went.

Finally the last car came up. Hedwig decided to put both hands on Neville's shoulders to try and get him not to ignore her, but unaware of it, Neville started opening the door. She may have put too much force to her clapping him on the back, for they both started falling through the now open compartment door, both screaming a little scream as they plummeted down to the carpeted floor. A little "oomph" later, and there they were on the floor, Hedwig on top of Neville. She must have knocked the air out of him, she heard him taking in gasps of breath.

"Neville, are you okay?" Hedwig heard a feminine voice say. She looked up, seeing a worried looking Hermione and a surprised looking Ron sitting by her. "Then that must mean -" She thought quickly and looked across to the other seat, seeing an equally surprised looking Harry there as well as a blonde haired girl, wand behind her ear, with a bit of a dreamy expression on her face as if nothing had disturbed the compartment.

"Harry . . ." She mouthed, not really knowing she had done so. But hearing a moan under her, she looked down and realized she was still on poor Neville.  
"Oh, Neville! I'm so sorry! Oh my goodness, I'm so, so sorry!" She rolled one way to get off the squished boy under her and on knee, helped him to the same position as she.  
"Oh Neville, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, it's just, you were just, oh I'm sorry." She finally decided on apologizing again after being tongue tied of what to say.

"D-don't worry about it." He stuttered a bit, still a little out of breath, "It was just an accident." He said finally with a sigh. Shaking his head a bit, he looked up at the persons of the compartment, seeming to remember what he had gone in there for.  
"Have any of you seen Trevor?"

"I knew you'd be coming to look for him," Hermione said, reaching into her pocket as she spoke, "He came hopping around about a half hour ago. You really need to keep a better eye on him."

"Trevor!" He yawped happily, taking the toad Hermione held out, "Thank you, Hermione." He said as he held the toad closer. He began to get up as did Hedwig, the floor not being so comfortable anymore.

"You're . . . Shannon, right?" Hedwig heard Hermione speak once again, making her look toward the bushy haired girl. Hedwig nodded, a sudden shy smile on her face, "I didn't really get to say hello to you in Diagon Alley. I'm Hermione, this is Ron, that's Luna, and I think you already know who Harry is." She said as she gestured with a wave of her hand toward Harry.

"Pleased to meet all of you." She quietly said, looking away with a shy glance, "Um, I better get back to my car, I left my satchel with all my things there."

"Well, you could grab it and come back here, if you'd like. Neville, you're welcome to come too, you know." Hermione offered with a smile. Harry, however, just looked out the window with an almost disgruntled look. Hedwig looked down, not really wanting to see Harry's disproving expression.

"Sounds lovely, but I really wouldn't want to impose." Hedwig said as she kept staring at the floor. What was she saying? It'd be a wonderful chance to speak with Harry, try to get a bit more acquainted with him as a human. Maybe it was just that look he had that made her say it.

"You wouldn't be imposing at all, really," Hermione said, making Hedwig look up, seeing she had a smile on her face, "It'd be nice to get to know you." Hermione finished saying, that smile still on her face.

"Well, I could, I suppose. I don't really . . . Know anyone as of yet, well, Neville, but not really," She blushed, twirling her fringe in her fingers nervously, "I'll get my things and be back. Neville, did you have anything with you?"

"Nah, I have all my things right here." He patted a bag that Hedwig just noticed as he sat by Harry.

"Good, I-I'll be back then." She smiled with a bit of a nervous giggle.  
She returned to the hall of the train, making her way back to her compartment, trying not to look to eager, for why, she didn't really know. Maybe so she wouldn't look so odd to other students she passed by. Maybe she was trying to dumb it down too much, for she looked down quite a bit of the way, not looking where she was going, until -

BANG! She plowed right into someone, knocking her down, maybe knocking down this other person. She looked up as she rubbed the back of her head, it banging on one of the compartment doors to discover a pointed faced boy, blonde hair slightly slicked back, him already in his school robes that had green and silver colors about it, knowing right away that he was in Slytherin. He was staring back at the knocked down Hedwig.

"Sorry about that, I had my mind on oth - "

"Look out where you're going, you filthy witch!" He somewhat yelled at her, surprised at his outburst. She felt her face scrunch up in anger though, feeling that it was just so rude.

"Well sorry, your highness!" She retorted back with such sarcasm, she almost felt it wasn't her saying it, "I wasn't aware there was going to be a royal ass on the train today!"

"I wasn't aware there was going to be such a trollop on the train!" He yelled back, getting up, dusting his robes off as if it was beneath him to do so.

"Yeah, w-well," Hedwig stuttered, flustered and a bit hurt at being called a trollop, "Piss off!" she finally decided to yell at him, jumping up, stalking off toward the compartment that contained her bag, feeling her face scrunch up with hurt, hearing the pointed face boy murmuring, "Yeah, nice comeback Smart one we have here."

"Horrid boy." She murmured to herself as she found her compartment. Opening the door, finding that no one had taken the compartment after her and Neville left, "Maybe they thought someone had this car already with my satchel still here." She said so quietly to herself, smoothly picking up the bag that held another pumpkin cupcake, a book all about the rarest and fastest brooms about (thinking that it may impress Harry a little bit if she knew a little bit about one of the things he loved), and a small, mauve journal that Dumbledore had given her the day before hopping on the Hogwarts train. She sat gingerly on the edge of the seat, the bag swiftly going into her lap. She reached in, took out the journal and started looking at it a bit more closely. Her hand smoothed over the cover, feeling silver etched into the brand new book, intricate patterns of swirls shining at her as it caught the light outside. She smiled, thinking of Dumbledore yesterday as he gave it to her.

* * *

_Hedwig sat in Dumbledore's living quarters at his dining table, a fine, home cooked meal set about her of Shepard's pie, homemade dinner rolls so fluffy that they looked as if they could float right up into the air, and freshly cut green beans with fresh butter. Dumbledore sat across from her, smiling at her as they ate the 'stick to your ribs' dinner._

_"Are you enjoying your dinner, Hedwig?" Dumbledore asked nicely, taking a bite of the steaming Shepard's pie in front of him._

_"Very much, Mr. Dumbledore. These potatoes on top of . . . What is it, Shepard's pie? They're so . . . Wonderful!" she exclaimed, with a wide smile, not having mashed potatoes before. Dumbledore chuckled at her enthusiasm, taking a sip of water from his goblet._

_"Are you ready for school to start, Hedwig? The train leaves tomorrow, you know." He suddenly asked, not yet putting his goblet down, taking another small drink._

_Hedwig looked away for a second, her fork faltering a teeny bit as she started nibbling her bottom lip in thought, "I-I think so. I mean, I've gotten my lessons down, I've reached to the point of the sixth year level, have my school robes and uniforms, have some special outfits you let me pick out," Dumbledore smiled at that, making Hedwig smile herself, glad that she got to pick out some none school clothes, "I'm all set on parchment, quills, have all my text books-" _

_"Hedwig," Dumbledore interrupted the bit of a babbling girl across from him with that warm smile he always gave her. She stopped, smiling a blushing smile as she realized she was rambling on, "I mean, are you ready? Are you ready to experience life as a human? Ready to make friends, ready to take classes with your fellow school mates, maybe even go out on dates?" that mischievous twinkle showed up as he said that last thing, making Hedwig blush more._

_"Mr. Dumbledore!" She blushed horribly as she laughed nervously._

_"I was a young wizard myself once, most people your age go out, it was an innocent question." that twinkle kept shining even brighter as Hedwig just shook her head in disbelief, still blushing a bit, smiling at Dumbledore._

_"My point is," he continued on as if he didn't mention anything out of the ordinary, "I have a present for you." There was a small pop to her left, looking down at her own goblet, she saw a small golden wrapped box, burgundy ribbon piled high on top of it. She reached over, picking the small box up tenderly, moving her plate over, placing the gift in front of her. She looked at Dumbledore with a shy smile, seeing he was smiling at her already._

_"You've done so much for me already, though." She quietly said, looking down at the present, twirling her fingers in the ribbon, it tickling the slightest bit. She looked up at Dumbledore again, as usual, he was still smiling. He nodded toward the gift in front of her, wanting her to open it. Hedwig found the end of the ribbon, pulling it slowly, feeling like it was miles of pulling with how long the ribbon was. She lifted the top of the little box, seeing a little book. She lifted it out, looking back at Dumbledore again with another smile, "A journal?" She asked politely, marveling at the brand new book._

_"Yes, my dear Hedwig. I thought that if you'd like to remember your time at around this age, you know, of first being human, that you could keep a little journal of it all, as I'm sure it'll be completely different for you, but it's completely up to you if you use it or not." His gleam in those eyes was at full force as he smiled at the young girl before him. She smiled even wider at him and at the journal. She stood up from her seat, journal still in hand, walking around the table. She reached him, putting her arms around his neck in a tight hug, feeling what appeared to be tears brimming in her eyes. But she wasn't sad. Not at all. She was just terribly happy to be given such an extraordinary gift. Maybe other girls didn't see a journal that way, but, she couldn't help but feel it was one of the most special things in the world she could have received._

_"Thank you." she said in such a low voice, still hugging Dumbledore, him returning the hug with a nice pat on her back._

* * *

She smiled down at the journal, not being able to help feeling fondness for Mr. Dumbledore.

"Is this what it feels like when you have some sort of parental figure in your life?" She wondered to herself. She looked out into the hallway for a second, seeing another Slytherin, the same as that horrid boy. She started to feel a twitch of anger again seeing those colors, doing a little 'humph' as he walked on by the compartment window. Then seeing that he was just as horrid as the first boy, this one throwing some sort of ball in a compartment with three girls across from Hedwig's compartment, seeing a huge cloud of orange smoke and blue sparks burst within, hearing laughter from probably none other than the boy that threw it in as the girls ran out coughing. She looked back to her journal, opening the book to the first page, taking out a quill from her bag (this one never ran out of ink), and started to write:

**_"Dear Journal,_**

**_Slytherin boys are bloody bonkers, and absolute wankers. What a fact to find out as I start off my adventure in the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."_**

She looked at it, smiling, instantaneously feeling better about what happened with the pointed faced boy, still feeling a bit sorry for what happened with the girls across the hall, though. She looked down at the page and felt something was missing. After thinking a few seconds, she smiled widely, and thinking at the same time that Mr. Dumbledore would greatly approve as she signed the page, feeling it the right thing to do with all that Dumbledore had done for her:

_**Sincerely,**_  
_**Shannon A. Dumbledore**_

* * *

Fantastic. :D I wanted to show that Dumbledore is a starting to become a more . . . fatherly figure to Hedwig with how he's treating her. :) And I just wanted Neville to lose his toad, and it came in handy so Hedwig could bump into the trio with Luna, hmm? ;D YAY! But yes, I hope you enjoy, and I'm terribly sorry for such a wait, and it was fun to update. :) Hopefully, you won't have to wait as long for the next part as you did this one. ;)


	5. Part 3 of Chapter 3

**Howdy, everybody! Thanks so much everyone for reviewing, and faving, and alerting, and just reading and being super awesome! =D Little bit of a wait for this update, but at least it wasn't years, no? ;D So, please, enjoy the last part of the loooooooooong chapter of chapter three. **

**Also! For those who think that Hedwig isn't pining after Harry enough and worrying about him enough, and what Harry is doing without Hedwig, just relax, and wait. :D Have faith in your fanfic author, you know? ;) Just . . . I don't want Hedwig to turn into a Mary sue type character. She's going to have to work to get Harry to notice her, and she can't just really gallivant right up to Harry during the summer and become his lover or friend or what have you like that. So, as much as I want them to be friends right off the bat, it's going to take a little bit. ;) Also, for those wondering what Harry's done without Hedwig while she's been at Hogwarts, well, I have it covered. So, without further ado, enjoy, my lovelies. :)**

* * *

"H-hi, everyone." Hedwig greeted everyone with her head down as she returned to the trio's compartment, turning around to slide the door closed, looking out the compartment window a few seconds longer than necessary. Taking a deep, nervous breath, she whirled around kind of quickly with a smile on her face, immediately seeing two people missing.

"W-where's Harry and Neville?" She asked as her body plunked down on the door, feeling quite disappointed that her former owner was no where to be found. Ron just sniggered in response, going on to tell Hedwig where they had gone off to.

"They were invited to The Slug Club for lunch. I'm sure they're having loads of fun." He chortled to himself a bit more, Hermione giving him a quick jab in his ribs with her elbow.

"I'm sure it'll be . . . Good to get to know the newest professor." Hermione said politely, "Have a seat, Shannon." She said kindly to Hedwig with a smile.

"Thanks." Hedwig said quietly with a shy smile herself, pushing herself off the door, sliding into the seat next to the very blonde haired girl she was quickly introduced to before, "You're Luna, right?" She courteously asked, Luna finally looking her way, almost seeming surprised that there was now another girl sitting by her.

"That's right. Luna Lovegood. I heard your name was Shannon before. But," She paused as she gazed at her, her eyes not blinking once, "You don't really seem like a Shannon to me." She dreamily said with a smile, going back to her magazine. Hedwig just sort of gawked at her, realizing that this girl was probably not very normal, noticing at that time that her magazine was upside down. Hedwig found her kind of interesting, even if she was a little bit unsure about her.

"So Shannon," Hedwig heard Hermione call her name as she still stared at Luna. Looking over at the bushy haired girl with another shy smile on her face.

"Yes, Hermione?" Hedwig asked as she fiddled a little bit with the edge of her skirt, trying to pull it further down, even though it was already just past the top of her knees.

"Why did you decide to come to Hogwarts? Didn't you like your other school?"

"Well, I did like my old school, but I wanted to be closer to family, and so did my Uncle Albus. So, he offered to enroll me into Hogwarts, right where he is you know," She chuckled a little bit, Hermione smiling at that, "And, I accepted." She smiled widely as she finished, not tugging at her skirt so much now.

"Did your parents mind you transferring?"

"Not at all, they didn't mind one bit." She looked away a bit at that, still smiling a small smile, "And Uncle Albus is grand family to have and be close to, so really, they welcomed the transfer." She looked back to Hermione, shrugging her shoulders a tad bit as if saying, 'that's that'.

"I see, I see. How does it feel to transfer to Hogwarts? What was your old school like?" Hedwig smiled a bit of a grin, kind of liking that Hermione wanted to get to know her.

"Hmm . . . It was kind of small, quite small, really. Felt like I was the only student there at times." She couldn't really think if she had gone over an old school with Dumbledore, so she went along with describing what it was like in Harry's room and her cage, "Of course it's quite a bit different, I mean, Hogwarts is so big. I had fun exploring it this past summer." She smiled, genuinely liking all that she had done over the summer.

"You stayed at Hogwarts over the summer?" Ron chimed in, his head tilting to the side with his question.

"Well, yeah. I stayed with Uncle Albus.. He wanted some company while he did his work." She smiled and laughed a small laugh, Ron smiling with her, "It was fun. Got lost quite a few times, but I learned my way around eventually."

"What do you like to do, Shannon?" Hermione asked another question, seeming very interested in getting to know Hedwig.

"Loads of things," Hedwig smiled more, finding it a bit funny that Hermione was asking these type of questions, "I'm starting to get into writing, and I enjoy reading a good book," Hermione perked up considerably at this. Hedwig had started really to like the books she studied over the past couple months, going into more kind of fictional stories after, "Love trying new jams, sounds weird, doesn't it?" Hedwig asked more to herself than Hermione as she admitted that, kind of laughing at it, "I like playing chess quite a bit, though I'm still just learning, Uncle Albus has been teaching me over the summer."

"Really? What kind of board do you have?" Ron chimed in once again, leaning forward, seeming a bit more interested in Hedwig.

"Well, I don't have a board, I've been learning on my uncle's. He has a Grandmaster Royal, first edition set, I believe." Ron whistled at this news.

"Quite the board to have. I heard that there are only eight known sets around."

"It is quite the nice board, I have to say," Hedwig started to say, "Maybe you could come and teach me a bit more chess?" Hedwig got a bit wide eyed at her own words, feeling a bit surprised that she had asked, "I'm sure Uncle Albus wouldn't mind, as he has another Grandmaster Royal set in his private quarters." She smiled and blushed a little bit, still feeling a bit surprised that she was feeling bold with Harry's friend.

"Y-Yeah! That'd be great!" Ron stuttered a little bit after he gawked at Hedwig a few seconds longer than he should have. Without expecting it, Hedwig heard the compartment door slide open, looking over quickly, excited to see Harry. . . But was quite disappointed in seeing just Neville there.

"Hey Neville, how was The Slug Club?" Hermione asked, Ron sniggering more at hearing the name.

"Don't ask." Neville said, flopping down in the seat in between Luna and Hedwig, leaving Hedwig feeling a little bit squished, and a little bit embarrassed at how close she was to Neville.

"Where's Harry?" Ron now asked, leaning back in his seat comfortably, folding his hands on his stomach, looking a bit too comfortable.

"He didn't get back before me?" Hedwig just gave him a sour look, thinking that Neville should have seen that Harry hadn't been back, "He left Slughorn's compartment before lunch was over, I thought he would have been back here long ago."

"Where do you think he is?" Hedwig's question popped out before she could stop it, blushing a mad shade of ruby at hearing herself ask the question.

"I'm sure he's just visiting with people, probably with Dean, or Seamus, maybe even Ginny." Hermione said with a reassuring smile, going right back to talking to Hedwig to get to know her, all of them soon just having a conversation of this and that, making Hedwig lean back in her somewhat tight seat, feeling almost comfortable with Harry's friends as she got to know them as a human, the thought of where Harry was still on the edge of her mind, though. But still, she was kind of enjoying herself and having a bit of fun. She felt like she could really get used to the idea of having friends, of having fun . . . Of finally being with Harry and bringing him out of his gloom.

They continued their conversations about school, about Quidditch, about the new classes they were going to take this year, just a little bit of everything as the Hogwarts train rolled on to the magnificent school, the sun in the distance starting to descend slowly, the moon soon to rise as the train was close to Hogwarts, everyone bustling around in the hall, straightening their ties or their robes as they walked, the students occupying the compartment with Hedwig doing the same. All the while, the thought of where Harry was beginning to thump bigger and bigger in her mind.

Hedwig could feel the train start to slow down, a heavy feeling starting to form in her stomach growing terribly with each second that rolled by. Was it nerves? Was she scared to finally be starting the school year? Or was it the fact that Harry never came back to their compartment? Probably the latter.

"Where could he be?" Hedwig said quietly to herself, no one seeming to have heard her worried words, holding onto her stomach as if she was going to be physically ill from concern for her former owner.

"Are you okay?" Hedwig heard Hermione ask as her eyes focused on her shoes. She looked up, seeing a look of concern on Hermione's face. She mustered a smile, playing off her heavy feeling.

"O-Oh yeah, I-I'm fine. Peachy, really." She stuttered her reply, knowing full well that that was a poor excuse of a cover up. As she kept looking at Hermione, the bushy haired girl across from her did something that surprised her: she stood up, going on her knees quickly in front of the nervous pale student, put a hand on her knee, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I know how you're feeling, Shannon, and what you're thinking." Hermione started as she kept looking on at Hedwig, keeping that smile. Hedwig just looked kind of shy at Hermione, surprised that she knew that she was so very worried about Harry.

"Y-You do? How'd you guess?"

"Well, we were all there once, our first year. You're nervous about going to a new school, especially one that's as big as Hogwarts," Oh. So she didn't know what Hedwig was feeling. Hedwig sighed a terribly big sigh of exasperation, which Hermione didn't seem to notice, "You'll do absolutely fine. And you're in Gryffindor, so we'll be roommates, you know. If you need any help with anything, just call on me. You also have Ron, and Neville, probably even Harry, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. So, perk up, you'll have loads of fun at Hogwarts, okay?" Hermione smiled a bit more wider at Hedwig, making Hedwig wonder if Hermione really wanted to get to know her, or if she felt it her job to welcome new students.

"Thanks, Hermione. You helped quite a bit." Hermione gave her another smile, standing back up, sitting back down in her seat, Hedwig sighing once again, looking out into the hallway of the train as the grand locomotive started to come to a complete stop with still no sign of Harry in sight. As soon as the train stopped, the hallway erupted in students, pushing and shoving, not really violently, just busily, a couple of those students being pressed up against the glass door briefly, everyone jabbering away, Hedwig hearing a few screams of delight, laughter, a few complaints about the busy hallway. She felt that she should be excited . . . She should be, of course, she would finally be with Harry, be able to spend time with him, just hang out with him and hear him talk away like all those nights at the Dursley's. It'd be just like it always was with them, just the two of them. She missed those times terribly. . . But with Harry not returning to their compartment, her heart felt full of dread.

"Shannon, are you coming?" Hedwig heard Hermione again, looking up at her, noticing that all the people in her compartment standing, getting their things off the racks as Hedwig just sat there so still, her hands clutching her stomach, feeling more and more ill. She just kind of stared at Hermione, feeling that she was biting her lip a little bit as she did.

"Are you sure you're okay? Should I get off the train quick and get a professor?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I-I'm fine. Just . . . Just nerves." She looked away, putting her hands on the seat; she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself a little before she stood up. Putting her satchel strap on her shoulder, she stood up with a little bit of shake to her knees, taking another deep breath, she nodded, more saying to herself than anyone around her, "Okay, let's go."

* * *

**And there you have the rest of Chapter three! :D I hope you enjoyed. Hopefully you won't have to wait long for the next chapter. Ta ta for now! :)**


	6. Chapter 4

Hello, my lovelies! Fancy meeting you here once again. :D I know, I know. Long, long wait. :( It's just how it goes for this story, I'm afraid, I'm terribly sorry for that, I just have other projects and stuff I'm working on and sometimes this story is a bit tough to write. But I do still plan to finish this, even if it does take a bit of time, so thank you so much for reading, and reviewing, and sticking with my fanfic. I heart you all. :)

Since it is taking a bit longer, a little. . . should we say contest? Lets call it that. :D Find out what it is at the end of this chapter. Without further ado, please enjoy Chapter four of "Hedwig's Wish".

* * *

Staring. That's all she was doing. Staring. Staring at a sausage that had long since gone cold, and a pile of mash that had seized up into a mass glob that felt inedible. She poked at them with her fork, feeling it bounce back slightly, doing so unintentionally, Hedwig's chest feeling so heavy with not knowing where Harry had gone off to.

_"Why hasn't he come back yet? Shouldn't we have found him in the crowd leading off to the castle from the carriages? And if not there, shouldn't he have been here, waiting in the great hall? . . . Where are you, Harry?"_ Hedwig's mind kept racing around with these thoughts, jumbling so much together it felt like just one big mess of a thought that was screaming at her in the form of, "**_HARRY_**!".

"I know I've asked this a couple times since we've gotten back, but," Hedwig heard Hermione's voice once again from across the table, and once again, looking up at the concerned bushy haired girl, feeling herself forge a smile as she heard her ask the same question for what seemed like the tenth time, "Are you alright, Shannon? It's just that you look ill, and you haven't really eaten." A few students around the great room were finishing up their dinner, going onto desert, a few taking that desert and visiting with other tables to catch up with their fellow houses, it seemed.

"Really Hermione, I'm fine," Her fake smile widened the slightest bit, feeling herself that it must have looked absolutely ridiculous, "Just nerves. . . S-Seeing all the students gathered here finally made me realize just how big of a school Hogwarts is." She looked back down at her uneaten food, not wanting to see Hermione's worried eyes anymore, feeling that Hermione knew she was right out lying.

"You know, when I first came to Hogwarts," Hedwig heard Neville chime in from her side, not bothering to look over at him, "I bet I was as nervous as you. To get over those nerves, I started counting all the candles hovering above us. I got around to about 67 until I felt better." She finally looked over at him, giving him a bit of a weird look, "It helps, really! Try it." She gave him the first real smile she had had in the great hall all evening, granted, it may have looked a bit of a down smile, but it was a true smile none the less. Not really knowing why; she gave him a little appreciated shove in his shoulder, putting a hand under her chin as she gave him a bit of a wider smile.

"Thanks, Neville. I'll remember that if my nerves get the best of me." This made him smile.

"Well, if it isn't a ginger nut and a mud blood. Aren't you missing something, though? A scar on pure blood society's arse, perhaps?" Hedwig felt the anger boil in her stomach at hearing that voice behind her so suddenly, whipping her head around fast to see that it was the boy from the train as well as two other boys behind him, who seemed to be his lackeys, sniggering already at their leader's words.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron seethed at him, Hedwig looking back to see that Ron seemed he was ready to pounce at this boy, Hermione already having a hand on his arm, almost as if she were ready to hold him back from a fight.

"Nothing, really," He drawled with a smirk on his face, hands smoothly sliding behind his back, almost tauntingly saying, 'I'm wide open, take your best shot', "I just wanted to catch up with my good friend, the _chosen_ one. But I see he's not here," Hedwig's hands clenched onto the edge of the magnificent table, not liking it at all that he had called Harry his, 'good friend', knowing perfectly well that this bloke didn't seem at all the type of friend Harry would have, "Where do you suppose he could be? . . . Maybe he was held up on the train," with that, he started walking away slowly, obnoxiously putting his hands up and shrugging his shoulders, "Well, I guess we'll just have to do without him. Shame too, I wanted him to hear the announcement about our professors. Have a _wonderful_evening." with that, he walked off, his cronies following close behind, all of them having a good laugh.

"What a rightful, prissy little arse!" Hedwig exclaimed as he was close to his house table, not hearing Hedwig's opinions of him.

"Got that right." Ron said as he was starting to cool down, Hedwig expecting Hermione to chime in and say something to defend the little wanker. But to Hedwig's surprise, she just nodded in agreement.

"I thought he was bad on the train," Hedwig started more to herself, her hands clenching onto the edge of the table a bit more, "Who does he think he is? Are all Slytherins such brutes?"

"Pretty much, but I would have used a better word than "brutes"." Ron said, taking a couple chocolate biscuits from a tray in the middle of the table, taking a bite right away, "Didn't Dumbledore tell you about Slytherins? Or about the Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry?" he spoke with a full mouth, taking another bite even though he was still chewing on his first.

"Well . . . Well no. What about a rivalry? He did say that they weren't the closest . . ."

"What Ron's saying is that Slytherins positively hate Gryffindors, much more than the other houses, which in turn, makes us not like them so very much either. Although, when most of their hobbies aren't the most virtuous, I suppose you can't really blame us."

"Yeah, and they're evil little gits too." Ron decided to chime in with his two cents as his hand wrapped around a small dish of pudding, "That's Malfoy you just witnessed there. He's head of the bell-ends all right."

"I never really knew." Hedwig said a little bit quietly, her hands going into her lap, fussing with her skirt a bit, annoyed that Dumbledore didn't tell her anything of how the houses were, "Uncle Albus has more been about how we as a school need to stick together more than anything. . . Mad old bat of an uncle I have." Hedwig said that last bit more to herself than the students she was starting to get to know.

"I'm surprised Dumbledore didn't say anything to you, with being an old Gryffindor himself," Hermione said with a smile, "House pride just goes quite deep here . . . And . . . I. . . Oh my." Hermione lost track of her wording right along with her amused smile as her head slowly turned toward the grand doors of the great hall, Ron looking right along with her. Hedwig looked behind her, first seeing an annoyed looking Professor Snape, right away seeing right beside him a Harry Potter that finally showed after such a long day of having vanished. Her heart leapt back into it's rightful place at seeing Harry, feeling her mouth transform into a smile bigger than a dragon…But just as quickly as it had leaped, it sank right back down noticing the blood on his clothes, seeing that it had come from his nose and also seeing a little knick and bruise on his cheek, her face feeling like it sank all the way to the dungeons.

"Harry." she mouthed as she stood right up, ready and willing to just run right over to him, hearing at the same time people shuffling behind her. She looked over her shoulder, seeing that Ron and Hermione stood up with just as concerned looks on their faces as Hedwig's emotions felt. Ron at that moment looked at her with a bit of a wonky look and it hit her: She shouldn't be standing up this worried about a boy that she supposedly didn't really know. With a deep breath, holding back the urge to keep standing; she sat back down, digging her nails into her palms to keep her mind a little bit more on that than wanting to run right over to Harry.

In the few agonizing moments which felt like days, Hedwig just looked over as Harry talked to Professor Snape. And soon, he started walking over to the Gryffindor table, leaving Snape by the Slytherin's, the former owl's heart beating so very much more heavily with each step that he took toward their house table. He reached his destination, taking a seat in between Hedwig and Neville, Ron and Hermione sitting back down as Harry did, Hedwig letting out the breath she didn't realize she was holding, at the same time feeling relief that Harry had made it here, feeling worry about his injuries, and feeling such anger over the arse that had done this to him.

"What on earth happened?" Hermione broke the silence as she reached in her pocket, handing Harry a handkerchief. He nodded with his thanks as he took it, dipping it slightly into a goblet of water, wiping off the remnants of blood still under his nose.

"What happened is Malfoy. I…I ended up hiding under my cloak and following him into his compartment with the other Slytherins," Hermione ended up giving him a mean look of 'didn't we say not to?', "I was stuck until we arrived, thought I was home free and could just sneak out after they had left. He figured out I was there, put a charm on me and was going to leave me on the train. Thank God Tonks found me, would be half way back to London by now." As Hedwig listened, her fury started to simmer.

_"How dare he."_she thought, the simmer of her temper starting to boil as she listened to Harry go on about the incident, her hands clenching in her lap tighter and tighter as her rage started to grow as she kept on listening. She looked over her shoulder at the terrible boy that did this to Harry, seeing him standing by his house table with his friends who were probably just as appalling as he was. She saw him looking at Harry, a revolted look on his face, one of the people around him saying something to him, pointing at Harry. This made Malfoy laugh, both of them giving Harry a rude gesture, making Hedwig's fury boil over a hazardous peak. Without a second thought, she sprung from her seat, running toward him in a graceful swoop, looking as if she was gliding swiftly over. A flash of confusion washed over his face as she reached him, soon a look of absolute shock exploding on his pointed features as she slapped him - slapped him harder than she knew she could ever slap - an absolute crack of skin making contact with skin sounding over the grand room, with Malfoy grabbing his cheek immediately, that shock staying put. Hedwig hovering by him, breathing hard as her anger slightly cooled down, staring at him as his features melted from shock to anger. Hedwig finally calming down enough to notice the Slytherins around her gripping their wands, the room in absolute silence, noting that all eyes were on her.

Her eyes scanned the hall, starting to hear whispers from all around, they soon getting a little bit louder as she just stood there, hearing a little whisper here and there waft over to her of what she had done.

"Who is that?"

"Why'd she slap Malfoy?"

"Over a little tryst over the holiday, maybe?"

"Didn't Harry sit by her when he came in?"

"Think she did it for him?"

"Maybe she rendezvoused with both and Draco did something horrible."

"Doesn't he always anyway?"

What had she done? She let her feelings get the best of her and now look where she was: In the middle of a crowd of students, all of them talking to one another like she wasn't even there.

_"I can't have Harry think that I slapped Draco for him. He'd think I'm absolutely daft."_she thought a bit frantically.

Without giving it a second thought, she let out the last of her heavy breaths, straightened herself upright and tried to stare down Malfoy as best as she could with her height being a little less than average, him staring right back, a little confusion shining in his eyes as he looked on her with such rage.

"That was for what happened on the train, you little twat."

"If this showdown is over with," Hedwig jumped slightly at hearing Professor Snape's deep drawl, looking over at him, realizing that he hadn't left that spot since he came in with Harry, "Twenty points from Gryffindor for such excessive violence," Malfoy gave a bit of a smug look toward Hedwig at this news, his hand still holding his cheek, "And ten from Slytherin for getting hit by a girl."

"B-But, Professor -!"

"You heard me, Draco. Back to your table, Ms. Dumbledore, I don't think you've made any friends with the Slytherin house today." Hedwig gave one last glare to Malfoy, him doing the same, before turning around, shoulders slumping as she exhaled the last of her adrenaline, feeling a sting in the hand she had slapped Malfoy with. Looking at the hand, she saw that it was quite red, a little knick on the bottom of her palm. She must have slapped harder than she thought… She also realized that there were a few claps and cheers here and there, even a couple whistles, as she walked back to her table.

"Great show!" A Hufflepuff exclaimed.

"Wicked way to start the year!" A Ravenclaw cheered.

"Way to show how Gryffindors roar!" quite a number of Gryffindors applauded loudly and proudly as she returned. This made her blush a mad shade of red, sitting quietly back on her seat, blushing even more as she realized her seat was still by Harry.

"Merlin's beard, what got into you?" Hermione said still a bit wide eyed, handing her a different handkerchief seeing her hand up close. Hedwig gladly took it, muttering a little 'thank you', dipping it in her water, wrapping it around her hand, hoping the cool cloth would sooth the throbbing that was starting up, having a little bit of trouble tying it when it was wrapped snuggly around her palm.

"Here, let me help." Came a quiet voice beside her. Harry took the two loose ends, knotting them up securely.

"Thank you." She muttered shyly, looking down at her hand as he tied it up.

"Shannon, right?" Harry asked as he finished tying up the cloth, Hedwig nodding with a small smile, "Is your hand okay? Think you need to go see Madam Pomfrey?" as he asked, he held her hand in his gingerly, seeming like he didn't want to hurt it any further… It had felt so long since she was an owl, so long since she had felt him pet her feathered self… She forgot how nice his hand felt on her, making her blush even more.

"Yes. N-No, I'll be fine. Thank you, Harry." Harry gave her a nod, taking his hands away, Hedwig kind of lingering her hand where his were. She soon felt another hand on her hand, seeing that Hermione had taken it, wand in the other, she pointed it to the cloth now wrapped nicely around her hand, a blue hued mist wafting around it, it feeling instantly cooler.

"That should keep it cool for you for a few hours. I'm honestly still wondering what busted in your mind."

"Does it really matter? It was bloody brilliant!" Ron chimed in, Hermione giving him a little glare.

"It was pretty wicked." Neville nodded in agreement. Hermione shook her head, but with a little smile twitching at the corners of her mouth, all this making Hedwig blush.

Before anymore questions or praise could be thrown about, Dumbledore took his position at the front of the hall at his podium, ready to speak, a hush billowing over the crowd.

"Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" this announcement was met with a thunder of applause and cheers.

"Since we started off the year with a bit of excitement, I'll get right to the announcements. Please welcome Professor Horace Slughorn, our new potions professor." Everyone started applauding, but slowly the clapping withered away as it sunk in, "Our new defense against the dark arts professor will be none other than Professor Severus Snape." No one cheered except for the Slytherin table…Well, the Slytherins plus Hedwig. Though she quickly stopped as she noticed no one around her was applauding for the announcement.

"What?" She finally asked when everyone was so silent at her table, "Has no one seen his defense charms? They're pretty magnificent." Being tutored both potions and defense against the dark arts by Professor Snape, she didn't really see any sort of problem. With no one answering her what all the fuss was about; she reached for a lemon pudding, having a little bit of an appetite now that Harry had returned. Taking a big bite, she went on to listen to the rest of the announcements, enjoying being able to sit by her former owner once again.

* * *

YAY! There was chapter four for you. I hope you enjoyed. :D So, here's the little contest for all my lovely readers: find the "Hot Fuzz" line/saying I used in here and I will write you a little Harry Potter one-shot. Your choice of pairing (can be** slash**), nothing over the rating of "T" though. Sound good? :) Just wanted to give a little thank you to my readers. :D

**SO, send me a message with your answer (I won't count review answers to keep it fair) and your pairing of choice. First to send in the right answer gets the one-shot.**

And there you be. Happy reading all!


	7. Chapter 5

Holy sheep... An update? Within just a couple months? In the same year? ! OH MY MERLIN IN HEAVEN! O.O No, but really, like I said, starting to write the Grape fic "Care for a Dance?" (which will be updated later this week ;) ), really got my fanfic motor running, so, I'll be trying to update this one here more frequently (hopefully at least once a month, which is quite a bit better than once a year ^^; ).

Also, the one-shot that was won last chapter is still being worked on. Just a bit of a tough couple to write (but pretty interesting to too, I might add), so there's that to look forward to as well. :D

**On another note: **To make this fic even more lovely/enjoyable (which I hope you think it is), I'm going to be editing the first couple chapters in the next couple months. :) Since this was started over seven years ago *le gasp!*, I believe (hope?) my writing has gotten a smidgen better, so, why not update, as I enjoy this fic, and I want it to be the best it can be. :D So, just to warn you.

One more thing (sorry):** THANK YOU** so much everyone for the continued favorites, alerts, and reviews! They mean terribly much to me and I appreciate each and every one. You're all totally awesome.

Now, on with the fanfic! Also, a certain question that I've received many times will be answered. ;) More comments about that at the end.

Enjoy!

* * *

Darkness blanketed her short form as she lay in the large four poster bed of the sixth year Gryffindor girls dormitory room, feeling so restless as she stared up at the blank cover of the bed. Thoughts buzzed around in her head of her first official night as a student at Hogwarts, how her emotions were running rampant throughout the entire day well into the evening, how she wanted so desperately to console Harry when he finally appeared at the feast after hearing what that dirty Slytherin had done to him…She also thought that maybe she let her feelings get the best of her… Just maybe.

Looking at her injured hand, she carefully unwrapped it from it's handkerchief cocoon. Unraveling the cloth away, seeing that even in the darkened vault of her bed that around the knick was a well formed bruise. Bringing it up to her mouth, she placed her lips on the cut in the middle of the bruise, giving it a little lick as if she were cleaning her wound.

"I never knew I could hit so hard," she mused to herself as she inspected her hand once again, laying it delicately on top of the blanket, bringing her non-injured hand to her face, rubbing her eyes in a bit of a frustrated gesture, "What am I on about? I never knew I would _hit anybody_. When did I become such a git?"

The view of the top of her canopy wasn't changing anytime soon, so with another sigh, she slowly sat up, pulling the drapes of the bed away. At a snail's pace, she put her bare feet to the cool floor, reaching over to her nightstand and opening the drawer; she removed the journal within along with ink and a quill, hugging and juggling the objects to her night-gowned self. With her other hand, she bunched the comfy blanket from her bed under her arm, soundlessly making her way through the room of sleeping girls to the door, opening it with the smallest of creaks; she made her way down the steps and into the Gryffindor common room.

_"No one here."_ she thought to herself. Drifting slowly over to the fireplace, she came to rest at the cushiest chair she had ever known. Setting her journal, inkpot, and quill on the arm, she climbed in the chair, tucking her feet under herself as she sat, wrapping the blanket around herself, taking but a moment to enjoy the warm glow of the slowly dying embers of the once roaring fire.

Snuggling a bit deeper into her blanket nest, she took her journal in and opened to a new page. Setting the ink carefully on the arm, she dipped her quill, placing the tip on the fresh page and began to write.

_Dear Journal,_

_What a first impression I must have caused throughout the school. Everyone must think I'm an absolute nutter…Well, probably most everyone outside Gryffindor that is, as most of my fellow housemates gave me a cheer when I entered the common room this past evening. Most everyone, save Harry. He didn't pay me much mind at all after dinner._

_…Why does that make me feel so odd, Journal?_

Hedwig looked up for a moment, brushing the feathery tip of the quill lazily on her chin as she contemplated her question for a moment.

_Yes, I want him to notice me, I want to form a friendship with him once again and be by his side to listen to his late night thoughts again…I want to make him happy, to bring him out of this darkness that he's been in but keeps hidden to most. But…I want him to** notice me**._

_But notice in what way? Yes, a friendship way, but…do friends feel their hearts race a bit more when they're near one another? Or feel flustered? Or just a bit wonky in general? Why do these feelings make me feel so confused? Why were my emotions so mad throughout the day about Harry?_

Sighing, she rubbed her weary eyes with her free hand, quickly moving that hand to stifle a yawn, thinking that she should probably end this entry very soon before she dozed in the too restful chair.

_Confusing thoughts to end a confusing, exciting day, it looks like. I guess being a witch will be a tad more difficult than I first realized…_

_Shannon A. Dumbledore_

Closing her journal, she placed it under her inkpot along with her quill, burrowing a bit more deeper into her blanket, feeling her eyelids feel so obnoxiously heavy, the warm embers from the fireplace not helping whatsoever.

"Just a short rest, then I'll go back to bed." she convinced quietly to herself, closing her eyes for the briefest of moments as she burrowed further, head resting behind her journal on the arm of the chair now, not exactly realizing that her eyelids didn't open again, not realizing further still that sleep had finally taken her in a nice, light rest.

* * *

She was flying. Flying high above the ground, higher than she had ever flown. It was exhilarating, positively exhilarating! Arms outstretched on either side of her, the cold wind whipping through her hair, jumper and skirt thrashing about her wildly as she was going faster than she ever remembered going. It was simply amazing.

What was she doing up here though? Looking down at the bit of parchment tied to her ankle, she immediately knew: She was going to Hogwarts. To deliver this letter. And knowing this, she right away looked up and saw the grand castle in the distance, as if appearing from nothing, traveling high above now what had turned into the forbidden forest. She had to hurry, she just knew she had to.

But out of nowhere, she heard a voice behind her. Not knowing who the voice belonged to; she ignored it, keeping her destination in mind, not wanting to falter off course.

But soon, she recognized that voice. One she herself had grown accustomed to hearing throughout the years. She turned her head, seeing Harry James Potter off in the distance. Racing after her swiftly on his broom, Hedwig finally being able to hear what he was saying.

"HEDWIG!" he was bellowing into the wind over and over again as he chased toward her, gaining on her almost too quickly. Letting go of his broom, balancing on the flying branch, reaching out to her as he started to close the small gap of sky between them.

"HARRY!" she called back to him, rolling over on her back as she still flew high in the atmosphere, hands reaching out toward the wizard, finger tips just centimeters from his own.

Instead of grasping on to her hands though, he flew closer still, making Hedwig gasp as his arms enveloped the young owl turned witch, feeling pressed tightly against the wizard's chest, feeling secure, safe. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, burying her face into his neck, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes as her arms squeezed him a tad tighter.

"Hedwig…I missed you." She heard Harry say softly, feeling warm droplets graze her cheek.

"Harry. I-I missed you too…so much."

Pulling away from her slightly, she saw that his eyes were glistening as he looked at her with such fondness. Taking one of his hands, he placed it gingerly on her cheek, leaning in just the slightest bit, their breaths mingling lightly.

"Hedwig…Hedwig…Hedwig…" he kept repeating, her name becoming softer as he was leaning in closer still, his lips just a jolt away… until a very confused look popped onto his face, his voice sounding just as confused.

"Shannon? You alright?"…

* * *

Hedwig woke with a start as she felt a hand on her shoulder shaking her lightly, this hand seeming to want to wake her. Sitting up in a split second, her eyes looking around wildly, not sure for a second as to where in the world she was. But spotting the now barely visible embers and seeing that her journal had flown to the floor in her panic (thank goodness that the top was on her inkpot), she knew she was in the Gryffindor common room. She also took note of the hand still on her shoulder.

Eyes moving up the arm of her human alarm, she could feel her cheeks burn as she saw none other than Harry Potter himself.

"You alright?" He repeated, his eyebrows raised slightly in surprise, "It's half-three in the morning, what are you doing down here?"

She looked away for a moment, biting her lip in thought. What was she doing down here? She shook her head when she remembered, blushing a bit more as she also remembered her dream, she nervously looked back up at the confused looking wizard.

"I-I came down to write a tad," Her tone was terribly groggy, "I guess I fell asleep." she raised her hands, rubbing her palms against her sleep laden eyes, feeling that a couple real tears had appeared, feeling too that Harry had taken his hand off her shoulder.

She now squinted her gaze up at him in a questioning look, "What are you doing down here?"

He gestured to a glass of water in his hand, raising an eyebrow at her, "Was thirsty. Saw that it looked like you weren't having the best dream,"_ 'wrong'_, Hedwig thought a bit discouragingly, "and thought I'd be nice and wake you from it. Is that wrong?" Hedwig looked away, hearing that tone in his voice that meant he knew he was doing what he thought was right.

In a small voice, she answered, "No." still not looking up at Harry again.

"Good. Now I'm going back to bed. Goodnight, Shannon." and with that, she heard his footsteps walk toward the boys dorms, looking after him, raising a hand to his back as if she wanted to stop him… But she just let him go without another word, dropping her hand as he disappeared from her sight.

With a great sigh, she leaned over and picked up her journal and accessories for it, holding them in her lap as she stretched the kinks out of her joints.

Leaning in the chair, staring upon the now smothered pit of flames, she thought back to her dream. She had dreamed this dream before a few times, just not…to such extremities. Her cheeks flushed once more at the thought of Harry being in such a close range. Sure, he had held her in these dreams before, and said he missed her, but…it was never that intense, never had he held her that close. She blushed even further.

She had wondered time and time again what Harry had been doing without her, his owl, his pet, his non-speaking confidant as it were. She wondered if he missed her, if he had searched high and low for her, if he had sent out a bloody search party, just to bring his owl home!

She kind of smiled at that, looking back to the boys dormitories door, that smile fading from her lips.

"He doesn't show it, but he does miss me… doesn't he?" She asked herself aloud, starting to feel those emotions wanting to go rampant once more.

Now thinking back to her dream, not being able to help it, she was becoming more confused at the ever changing proximity of Harry's body. How much closer he got and how much more near his lips reached with each dream she had. She shook her head as the scarlet hue returned to her cheeks, feeling more baffled than ever.

Opening her journal once more, going back to her entry, jotting down with a quick scribble before she picked up her belongings and headed back up to bed:

_P.S._

_Confusing thoughts indeed..._

* * *

The Great Hall was extraordinarily animated as the first day of the new term started for Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Kids laughing, joking, chatting about their new classes, so many first years looking terribly nervous.

It was all so exciting for Hedwig. Yes, she probably felt as nervous if not more so than how the first years looked. But the excitement was winning out.

She woke early that morning and was there before most, finally being able to have a little something when most people were appearing as her stomach was just too full of butterflies earlier that morning.

Nibbling on a strip of bacon as she watched a heated argument between a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor; she was surprised to hear a thump on the seat across from her. Looking over, she smiled as she saw Hermione sitting down with a very much larger than average book, the book making quite the larger noise than Hermione did as she set it down on the table.

"Morning, Shannon." she smiled herself, opening her book to a bookmark wedged about halfway into the book, taking a piece of toast and biting it right away as she started to read, Hedwig giving her a very curious look.

"Morning." She said, a bit unsure, thinking that that was the end of their conversation before it even began. With a small shrug of her shoulders, she reached to the middle of the table for a bowl, ladling a small amount of porridge for herself, deciding to add a spoonful of lemon jam as she spotted it out of the corner of her eye by the toast.

So they went on like that: Hermione reading her book as Hedwig kept up her people watching, now ensnared by a Hufflepuff, who looked to be a first year, trying to turn a goblet of water into rum. She nearly choked on a bite of her porridge when the goblet burst in the Hufflepuff's face, their face covered in soot, hair blown back in a comical way. She started laughing to herself, feeling a tad bad at the same time that she was sniggering at the poor Hufflepuff's expense.

"So, what class do you have this morning?" Hedwig heard Hermione say, looking over, surprised that she had stopped reading her book. She was also surprised that she was talking to her and not someone else.

With a bit of a stumble, she uttered simply with a smile, "Potions."

"Oh, I have that too!" she exclaimed, "I wasn't sure if any other Gryffindors would be in the class since Harry and Ron couldn't take it. I quite enjoy the subject myself. It's so interesting to me that a potion could go so pear-shaped with the smallest miscalculation," She went on, Hedwig truly feeling her enthusiasm for the class, "But where are my manners? You must have an apt for it if you're taking the class. How did your potion classes go at your old school?"

"I think they went alright. Better than average, I would say." Hedwig said as she thought to her potion lessons with the stark professor that most deemed 'the bat of the dungeons'.

"Well, if you ever need some help, I'd be happy to, as I'm sure some things differ from school to school."

Hedwig just smiled, not knowing how to respond, feeling almost bashful at the invitation for help. With a nod, she said in a low voice, "Thanks Hermione," the witch across from her smiling back.

"I can't believe that you were named Quidditch Captain! I mean, I can, but it's just brilliant!" Hedwig's head turned as she heard Ron's excited voice, spotting the red head gesturing wildly to a quite pleased looking Harry. This made her smile and then smile even more widely when he sat by her side once again with Ron taking the seat by Hermione.

"Did you hear? Harry made Quidditch Captain!" Ron beamed, pouring some juice in a just grabbed goblet.

"Yes I have, congratulations Harry, but more importantly," She paused for a bit of effect after quickly wishing him congrats, "Where have you two been? Breakfast is nearly done with." Hermione asked with a bit of an annoyed look. The two boys formed almost identical grins as they started digging into the food about them, Ron speaking first.

"No morning class, Hermione."

"Slept in." Harry chimed in, scooping some eggs onto his plate.

"Probably goof off for a while."

"Don't you think there are other matters to prioritize over rather than just goofing off?" Hermione said in an incredulous tone, closing her book a tad rather roughly.

"No, not really." Harry replied, starting to laugh along with Ron, Hermione cracking a smile, Hedwig doing the same.

"I sincerely hope you two get a bit of a better morning schedule than just goofing about," Hermione said as she was starting to stand, picking her book up as she did, "I have a book on hold at the library. I'll see you two later, and I'll see you in potions, Shannon." with a smile, she went on her way at a quick pace soon gone from The Great Hall.

"So Shannon," Hedwig's head turned rather abruptly, feeling rather surprised Ron was calling on her, "You wanna have a match before morning class?" he said as he took out a rather beaten up portable chess board from his bag, shaking it a little bit towards her as if trying to entice the witch, "I've beaten Harry so many times-" Harry gave him a glare and a bit of an incredulous 'Hey!' at that statement, "-that it'd be nice to play some new blood."

Hedwig smiled broadly, feeling terribly flattered that she had been offered, stirring her porridge a bit absentmindedly as she thought of her answer.

"Well I..." her words drifted off as the morning post was flying in, her eyes growing wide with disbelief as she spotted something that was not at all possible:

A snowy white owl.

A snowy white owl that was headed toward them.

That was getting closer and closer to Harry in what seemed slow motion. It had to be someone else's owl, right? At this table? In the same house?...Right? !

Soon, that-that... _thing_ landed in front of Harry, Hedwig dropping her spoon in alarm, her heart starting to race as her hands grabbed the table edge in a tight grip, feeling as if she didn't, she'd hyperventilate into a coma. It looked exactly how Hedwig looked when she was an owl! How could this be? !

With a squawk, the bird stuck out it's leg, waiting patiently for Harry to take the note. He took the letter off delicately, giving the thing an appreciative pat and what made Hedwig's eyes go even wider, a genuine smile of thanks.

He gave her a bit of bacon, moving her up to his shoulder, the one closest to Hedwig, as he opened the letter.

All she could do was stare at the impostor perched up on Harry's shoulder, too many thoughts flying around, jumbling into one grand knotted ball that made it impossible to untie one of those thoughts free.

Suddenly, all she saw was red then, her eyes narrowing into slits as Harry gave the owl another pet, the owl in return giving him an affectionate nip. How dare the little berk do that with her owner!

"Shannon? You alright?" She heard Ron speak up, looking over to see his chess set in front of him on the table, setting the pieces up already. She shook her head and with the greatest difficulty, answered Ron in a semi calm way.

"I-I'm fine. Just...Merlin..." she started saying as she looked on the pair through the corner of her eye, seeing Harry...laugh. Laugh at another nip the faker gave him... Merlin help this bird with all the magic you can summon.

Hedwig, feeling much of that same kind of anger she felt the night before toward the rotten Slytherin, retaliated with her hand swinging backward at this bogus bird, her fingers grazing her, the bird freaking out slightly, screeching loudly, wings flapping wildly as her talons clutched onto Harry's shoulder. Harry, in turn, tried to calm the thing, the former owl at his side not at all pleased.

"Watch it!" Harry exclaimed, finally settling the bird down on the table, giving Hedwig quite the glare, one that could rival Snape's, honestly.

With a deep sigh, still feeling terribly upset, Hedwig thought of something quick.

"Sorry! Have a bit of tick, you see. My hand will just swing about out of nowhere- whoops!" she repeated the act, hitting Harry square in the shoulder this time, Harry grabbing his shoulder at the light slap. How dare he mistake that damn impostor for her!, "See? Don't know when the bloody thing will strike! As for a game, Ron, "she continued in an all too happy, overly loud voice, "I simply must decline as I planned to have tea with Uncle Albus before my class! Another time, though, yes?"

With that, she stood from the table, making a quick dash out of The Great Hall, it exploding into a run as soon as she was out of the room, the only destination on her mind was Dumbledore's office. Not for tea, not for a nice chat, but to find out where in the world that phony Hedwig came from.

* * *

YAY for new chapters! I know what quite a few are going to say for the 'fake Hedwig': "COP OUT!" But honestly, no, it's really not. :) I've been planning that scene for about as long as I've had the idea for this fanfic. So if you want to yell shenanigans, be my guest. ;D

On another note: No, Hedwig isn't overly aggressive. That's not the impression I'm trying to give her. To me in the books, she can just get terribly jealous over Harry (and be very protective, for that matter, like with slapping Draco the night previous in the story). So, she's not violent, really. You won't see any hitting from her for a very long time now. ;)

You'll get more of an explanation from Dumbledore about the owl at breakfast in the next chapter, and also, the potions class begins. :D

So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Until we meet again, have a lovely time.


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